Mad Max: Road to Salvation: Volume 2 (SEASON 3 IS UP!)
by dmandog056
Summary: Max's exciting adventures in the world of remnant continue in this second edition. Terrible things are brewing beneath the surface of the world Max has now come to call home. Can he and his band of warriors face the immortan level challenges of the road ahead? Only time will tell in this next chapter of Max's high octane story of action and intrigue. "What a lovely day!"-Nux
1. Full Throttle PT1

Mad Max: Road to Salvation: Volume 2

Episode 1[32]: Full throttle PT. 1

-Vale wilderness-

Blake was walking along through the woods on her way to reach beacon. She'd been thinking about what even brought her to the decision in the first place. That whole mess on the train with Adam, it left a bad taste in her mouth for sure. She Just kept wondering how she was going to make him see the light again, she still cared for him a bit. Then there was also the dog faunus daughter of that man Max, Blake's thoughts drifted to the girl that resided in the company of the man who'd nearly killed her. She shivered slightly when she remembered the death threat she'd received so long ago. She stopped walking, drawing gambol shroud as her heightened senses detected a nearby presence. The cat faunus scanned her surroundings carefully with a keen eye.

"If I wanted to kill you, I'd never have let you detect my presence." A monk-like voice said as Blake turned her attention to where it came from. She saw a figure in a black and crimson striped trench coat, he was a 17-year-old who bore a crimson stripe in his hair, Doberman doggy ears, fingerless gloves, a black undershirt, black pants, and combat boots. Blake kept her weapon trained on the boy in front of her, she knew this boy, the one Adam had ordered to dispatch Max and never returned. "Are you going to keep pointing that weapon at me or will you make the wise decision and simply chat?"

"Yes, on both counts." Blake said unwaveringly, causing the boy in front of her to sigh before attempting to ease her worries.

"I've put that life behind me. Even if I hadn't, I doubt you have many enemies who actually know your identity. The only one who would have dispatched me is your former lover, and in recent days he'd have ordered me to eliminate you. I am many things, but openly deceitful I am not." Slice said a calm and collected tone while taking a lotus position on top of his perch. Blake blushed a bit in embarrassment but still wasn't buying it though, she had heard the stories and seen his handiwork. Slice only looked back at her with a Zen expression on his face. "I would like to know why you abandoned your cause."

"That's none of your concern." Blake narrowed her eyes.

"Is it? I would venture to say it very much is, because depending on your answer I may have to take measures against you. Non-lethal, I assure you on my honor." The former assassin promised to his fellow faunus.

"I want to change what the white fang has become and going to Beacon might help with that." Blake admitted her reasons for leaving the organization that she once idolized. She conveniently left out that it was also to leave Adam who had become drunk on power and furious at the prospect of Max's immunity. She had left home to learn how to become a huntress at beacon academy and atone for what she did.

"You wish to become a huntress then? It is daunting task for one such as yourself with your history. But then who am I to say as I am now working on the more legitimate side of things." Slice said with mild curiosity.

"Yes." Blake answered definitively. "I'm not afraid to face the challenge ahead of myself. I'll do whatever it takes if it means I can payback some of the things I've done and do what's right for a change. That's all there is to it."

"I see, very well then, I will not hinder your progress any longer young kunoichi. I wish you luck on your endeavor Belladonna." Slice said as he disappeared into the shadows.

"Farewell shinobi." Blake said as she went on her way once more.

-Vale-

"I'd say it's a nice day for a stroll, don't' you agree?" Mari said as she walked alongside Amy.

"Of course, sweetheart, after all I'm with you and the kids." Amy replied with a big smile.

"Um eww." Anya and Daniel groaned together. The adopted daughter of Max was being babysat by the two women who more than happy to watch her while Glynda and Max were busy taking care of other matters. Lucky for Bruz, he was with his girl Velvet in town on a date and unavailable to watch the girl. Not that he didn't want to, but he needed to spend some time with his fender bunny. The two children were eager to play with each other since there weren't really too many kids they knew besides each other. Amy and Mari had taken them into vale for a stroll to play in the park. Nearby a girl in a red hood happened to be walking in their direction with a big smile on her face and a box of weapon parts in her hands. She was listening to her favorite tunes as she strolled along the sidewalk without a care int the world. Suddenly she bumped into something, or rather someone.

"Oof, Sorry." Ruby apologized to the person she bumped into.

"You should pay more attention to where you're going." One voice female voice scolded from above the young huntress to be.

"Calm down Mari, it's alright, at least she didn't hit one of the kids with her box." Another feminine voice said in a calmer and more grounded tone.

"Are you okay?" A little voice asked as Ruby lifted the hood from over her eyes. Ruby was about to reply but as her vision cleared she looked to see that one of these two women was a huntress. She was stunned to see the Foxy-lady herself, Mari Futaba.

As Ruby's jaw dropped Daniel waved his hand in front of her face. "I don't know Anya, I think her brain broke."

"EEEEEEEEE!OhmygoshI'msosorry!Areyouahuntress?!CanIhaveyourautograph?!" Ruby screeched in joy spouting gibberish to the patient huntress who was enjoying being fangirled over. Amy rolled her eyes at the sight of her smugly grinning lover being praised like a super hero. Ruby produced a piece of paper and a pen that Mari signed with all due haste and a wink that was to die for in Ruby's eyes. Then Anya and Daniel got bored and started looking at the box Ruby had dropped. Anya pulled out a few funny looking pieces and handed them to Daniel. The boy set down said parts and junk with a puzzled looked as he started putting them together like building blocks. Ruby turned her attention from her fangirling and saw the two tykes messing with her stuff. She asked the two of them to stop, nicely. Anya was on the verge of an 'explosive' temper tantrum but Mari put a stop to that. Anya was sour after that but she accepted it nonetheless.

"Sorry about them getting into your box, erm what was your name again?" Mari started to apologize and asked ruby for her name.

"It's Ruby, and it's okay. But these parts are for something really special I'm making. They're going to be presents for my baby sisters at home when I'm done!" Ruby said with a cute hero pose.

"Ooh that's so sweet." Amy said happily.

"Well their birthday's coming up so I wanted to do something special." Ruby said thoughtfully.

"How old are they anyway little red?" Mari asked her fangirl.

"About to be one." Ruby replied bluntly.

"Wait you're making weapons for babies?" Amy asked with skeptical look.

"They'll be for when they get older." Ruby tried to explain.

"But you just said they were for 'this' birthday." Mari interjected.

"It's the thought that counts." Ruby said with her cheeks puffed up. "Plus, one of them likes my crescent rose."

"Well alright then, do you have a picture?" Amy asked the tiny reaper.

"Oh yeah we took a family picture!" Ruby said as she produced a decent sized photo with the six Xiao-long family members present. All three babies were in their little onesies with hair akin to shorter versions of Yang's. Each of the able members held up one of the triplets with one having a binky while another was cradled in the arms of Yang and the last one seemed to reach for the camera.

"Aww that's so adorable! It almost reminds me of Daniel's baby picture." Amy gushed at the picture.

"MOM!" Daniel shouted with a red face of embarrassment and Anya giggled at her friend's misery. Daniel looked at her with 'traitor' on his mind.

"Well we'd better get going if we're going to get back to our schedule. It was nice meeting you Ruby!" Mari said as she and the rest of the group walked away.

"Bye!" Ruby waved as the group disappeared down the street. Ruby then made her way back home with the box of junk. She'd be back later to take care of the rest of her errands after she dropped off the box at home.

-Several Hours Later-

Night had fallen over vale and the city's vibrant nightlife had sprung into view. Amy and Mari had dropped off Anya back with Glynda and the good witch decided to watch Daniel for them as well. The two ladies decided to visit a local bar run by a man named Junior. After passing the bouncer with their good looks, charm, and fame, the ladies had themselves a drink. Not long after, a young blonde girl barged into the place. She looked no older than seventeen and had long flowing golden locks for hair. She made her way to the bar and started a discussion with the bartender/owner who sicced his associates on her. The girl began slugging it out with the paid thugs and hired goons that came after her. She knocked out into the air and the man flew straight into the table Amy and Mari were sitting at. His hands landed on the breasts of none other than Amy who was mortified. Mari grabbed the goon by his head, looking him dead in the eye, roared his ear off. "Hands. Off. MY. WIFE!" She sent him flying with a haymaker into a thug that was about to swing at the blonde fist fighter from behind. The Foxy huntress rose from her seat and saw the girl whooping wholesale ass by herself. The girl took notice of the charitable act and waved over the huntress to join in on the beating.

"Yo Kid!" Yang stops mid beating of a henchman. Taking a brief look at the foxy faunus. "Need a dancing partner?"

The blonde brawler had a wicked smile on her lovely face. "You know how to dance?" she asked putting a hand to her hip seductively.

Mari Pulled out her twin magnum pistols and swapped them into their melee mode. "Oh boy do I."

"Then let the dance fight begin!" Yang shouted cheekily as the two of them fought in tandem with each other. The blonde slugged a goon to Mari who batted the man away with her tonfas. Mari grabbed the girl's arm and swung her around as she kicked the faces of several goons at once. With enough momentum built up, Mari released her hold on the blonde and she landed a massive chest kick to even more thugs in a straight row. The two buxom femme fatales were enjoying their fight together in the club with the both of them having wide grins on their faces during the whole ordeal. Mari kicked one thug in the crotch and Yang drove it home with one more blow to the jewels. The man was flung into the last group of thugs, knocking them down like bowling pins. At the end of it, the both of them were standing over the pile of beaten blowhards and proceeded to sit back down at Mari and Amy's table.

After a few minutes the girls had gotten to talking with each other and the blonde finally decided to formally introduce herself. "Well now that we've had our fun, my name's Yang Xiaolong."

"Mari Futaba, huntress extraordinaire at your service. This lovely lady next to me and the birth mother of our handsome little boy Daniel, is my wife Amy." Mari introduced herself and Amy.

"Oh, do go on." Amy blushed.

"Wait a minute, both of you are a teacher and head nurse for Beacon!" Yang put two and two together.

"Why yes we are young lady." Mari replied after she took a sip from her drink.

"Ooooh so cool!" Yang gushed. "Well then heeeeellllllloooooo nurse!" Yang said as she looked at the beautiful assistant head nurse for Beacon.

"Well thank you, but it was supposed to be our date night. And well..." Amy trailed off with a slight blush.

"Sorry about that honey, I couldn't let her have all the fun now, could I?" Mari shrugged and shook her head.

"Ooh, play for the same team I see." Yang grinned with a finger to her chin.

"And let me guess, you're gonna be a new student to come to the academy this year." Mari crossed her arms over her busty chest.

"Yep, my first year!" Yang confirmed with a smile.

"Be careful what you say next, because you might get me, or my colleague. I have to warn you that aside from a girlfriend of ours, he's possibly one of the scariest individuals currently living." Mari described her colleague and his penchant for violence and brutality.

"OOooh the one with the awesome car!" Yang almost shouted gleefully, but secretly she was very eager to confront the man who had helped her mother sire the triplets.

"...Oh, great a fan. Here's a piece of advice, don't tick him off, trust me." Mari tried to warn the young soon to be huntress in training.

"He can't be that bad." Yang subtlety phished for more info.

"He's the very definition of, pardon my language, bad motherfucker. But I guess you'll just have to find out for yourself later then." Mari informed the young girl. "Well it's time we got home. See you at school yang, hope you get good grades!" Mari said as she and Amy left the building with Yang right behind them. The blonde buxom brawler began walking back to her bike, a certain manic mechanic happened to stroll into the area. The blonde shot a look his way and noted the well-toned physique of the son of Max. He looked her straight in the eye and Yang stepped off of her bike.

"Well hello handsome…" Yang said seductively as the dingo faunus approached.

"Sorry about that beautiful, but I already have a lady friend." Bruz replied with a smirk.

"Well isn't that a shame. Oh well, besides I think you might have some answers for me hot stuff. I want to know about your old man." Yang got straight to the point. She'd done some digging through Junior on the identity of the man known as the road warrior and fate had just delivered her another wellspring of information.

"I'll tell you what gorgeous, you beat the piss out of me and I tell you what you want to know. But if I win, you join me and my girlfriend on a date." Bruz offered a wager and cracked knuckles and neck.

"Why would I do that if you already have a girlfriend?" Yang asked with an eyebrow raised.

"She's been in the mood to experiment lately, what else can I say? Now c'mon put up your fists and let's do this!" Bruz raised his fists defensively and took up the stance Max had shown him. For Yang this seemed like a golden opportunity for conquest, how could she resist?

"You are so on!" Yang said as she charged head on at the original student of Max.

"Bring it on lightweight!" Bruz replied with a crazed look in his eye.

-END CHAPTER-


	2. Full Throttle PT2

Mad Max: Road to Salvation: Volume 2

Episode 2[33]: Full throttle PT.2

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[Gamerman22:Oh yes it is!]

[Clearwingyuta:yes I am and thanks!]

[Charles: Yeah sorry about month long wait but I had other stories to attend to. I'm on the fence actually about a love triangle but I had been setting one up for awhile so yeah.]

[Review dude: It's back, and things will get crazy!]

[Ronmr: Yep, I'm actually counting on that man.]

[Wombag1786: Thank you wombag! BTW your own story is pretty good dude!]

[Guest 1: Yep, that will be strange. Ol' cardin is going to have a painful lesson in tolerance and humility. I'm on the fence about the initiation being the next chapter but I'm not saying no.]

[Guest 2: Tell you what, if you're not the only one that feels that way I won't do it. But what I was planning was going to be funny. Shame you don't see it that way since it wouldn't be what you thought. Otherwise, it will happen.]

[Evowizard25: Well thank you for your open mindedness Evo. I'll try not to disappoint.]

[Dinosaurchicken: (Arnonld voice) I'M BACK!]

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Yang charged the experienced wasteland mechanic with reckless abandon as their fists met. Bruz was pushed back a bit by the direct force of her strike but that only strengthened his resolve to win. Yang, thinking this would be easy, charged in again, but Bruz was now clued in to her strength and took up a defensive posture. As yang's fist was about to land again, Bruz parried the strike and knocked her to the ground. Yang kicked upwards, narrowly missing Bruz's chin, and forcing him to back pedal. Yang was enjoying herself as she continued her assault, but Bruz was just playing nice. He was using his teachings from max to be patient while trying to find another opening to parry his opponent. Yang tried throwing a haymaker, but that was just what Bruz was expecting and grabbed her by the arm. He began swinging her around in a huge circle and then let go. She was flung into a solid concrete wall with the help centrifugal force and good old-fashioned gravity. Yang felt the world spinning a bit from that little whirl but she pulled herself from the wall and shook her head while Bruz ran at her.

"G'day!" Bruz said as he hit upside the head and knocked her to the side.

"Hey that was a cheap shot bucko!" Yang rubbed her cheek.

"The boss taught me to take every opportunity girly! Besides, this is a street fight!" Bruz replied with a sly grin.

"Then take this!" Yang charged Bruz and jumped at him, attempting to pound the ground where he stood. The manic mechanic jumped back and caught some great air from the blast. He landed on wall with his feet and sprung off rebounding towards his opponent. Yang braced for the impact but the hit was massive. She tumbled on the ground shortly after the transfer of energy from the sheer shock of the hit. A small nearly invisible piece of glass was right next to her head when she stopped tumbling. Yang stood up from her dazed position to see a small hair flutter away from her head. With a twitch from one of her eye, her pupils turned dark red as she roared in fury. "You monster!"

"Aw scrap." Bruz mumbled as enraged yang ran towards him with her feet leaving imprints in the asphalt.

"Here comes the pain train!" Yang roared as her fist collided with Bruz's face. The young mechanic barely activated his semblance as the fist touched his cheek. He slid backwards at incredible speed as his feet left individual trenches in the ground.

"So, you want to play rough eh?! Then come get some!" Bruz replied as he ran at Yang rearing back his fist. Yang did the same with her eyes still glowing red and giving the appearance that she was on fire. The unstoppable force was about collide with the immovable object. Both fists slammed into each other with a resounding boom across the area, shattering glass and hurting ears within a block radius. Neither side backing down as the two of them grappled with each other. Bruz roared into Yang's face and managed to get a foot forward, causing yang to step back. Not wanting to let the boy get away with harming her hair, Yang put on the pressure and screamed in fury holding her ground and forcing Bruz's arms back. Bruz remembered one of Max's other tactics and let go, ducking at the last second. Bruz gave yang a huge uppercut, knocking her into the air. She spun a few times from the raw force behind Bruz's retaliation and unceremoniously landed face first on the ground. Bruz cracked his neck and stretched out to loosen up a bit. Yang pulled herself from the imprint she left behind and rushed Bruz again with a burst of raid punches that Bruz was barely managing to keep up with. He had been trained better than to lose in a street fight. With a brief opening from the rampaging Yang, Bruz struck her in the face and knocked her back. With a second to breathe, Bruz pulled two massive wrenches from his back, holding one in each hand.

"Batter up mate!" He quickly went to work, dodging Yang's next strike and landing a massive hit to her core with the two massive hunks of industrial steel. The daughter of Taiyang felt the wind get knocked out of her as time slowed to a crawl. Her eyes looked down to see the two huge pieces of steel bashing against her midriff like a bat. A bit of drool leapt from her mouth as she slowly flew backwards again through the air. She slammed into a street lamp and bent it like a paper clip. Yang was left dazed in surprise as she struggled to get to her feet. She stumbled and dropped to one knee breathing heavily with drool still dripping from her mouth. Bruz put his weapons back in their holsters on his back and walked towards the girl to see if she was okay. The young mechanic reached a hand down to the cooling down Yang and smiled. "You alright?" He asked kindly. "Sorry about the hair but that wasn't me mate. I wasn't using a blade, and I'd never cut pretty locks like yours."

Yang looked up at him and reluctantly took his hand. She looked over and saw a glint from the ground, revealing the offending glass. She blushed a bit in embarrassment from her mistake but blushed even more when it meant she'd lost the fight. With a sigh and a slight giggle, she relaxed. "I thought there would've been no weapons?"

"This was a street fight, you technically have guns on your fists already, so I'd say that doesn't matter. I only used these anyhow." Bruz referred to the heavy duty industrial wrenches.

"Nice, they make up for in brutality what they lack in style." Yang gave opinion on the heaps of raw steel Bruz hefted on his back.

"I like to get right to the point blondie. I've got quite a few toys with me. There's these, my SMG, bow pistol, kukri, wing-sticks, and buzz-axe." Bruz rattled off the arsenal he hauled around with him.

"Buzz-axe?" Yang asked as Bruz pulled a third melee weapon from his back, revealing a brutal looking radial saw blade attached to a jury-rigged handle with a small powerful motor to spin the blade. "Woah."

"Yeah, I only use this baby on grim, I call it Buzzkill!" Bruz said smugly.

"Sounds like a you get a killer buzz from using it!" Yang punned badly to which Bruz shook his head with a smile.

"Anyway, I win so you owe me a date." Bruz pointed finger gun at her.

"Fine, but I'm going to learn more about your old man sooner or later." Yang put her hands on her hip seductively with a pout on her face.

"Of that I have no doubt sweet cheeks, be seeing ya." Bruz said as he gave Yang his number and she did the same. Without another word, Bruz walked away to continue his nightly patrol of the city. The young mechanic made his way to the rooftops and began jumping from perch to perch to work on his agility. He'd gotten a decent workout fighting that girl a short time ago. The teenage boy had a smug grin on his face at the idea of dating two pretty girls. Part of him knew that in a way it would be strange, he couldn't pin down how though other than that he'd have two girls to himself. The manic mechanic jumped over another alley in front of him using his cross-bolt pistol the deadly sixer to shoot a line across. He pulled himself to down from the air to the rooftop a rapid pace and continued to move fast keeping himself in a state of working out. He managed to pull a hand stand as touched down on another roof and flipped himself to his feet. Max's latest training regiment for him was definitely working out to his benefit as the improved agility served its purpose in his earlier fight. He then saw a small shop that was being robbed by a group of thugs, the store had a sign above it labeled 'from dust till dawn'. Bruz, knowing it was technically his job to help, jumped to the next rooftop. A little girl in a red hood also made her way to the roof right behind a man in a white trench coat waring a bowler hat. Bruz stood in front of the man with the bowler hat with his arms crossed.

"Well, well, if it ain't needle dick himself." Bruz mocked the man known as Roman Torchwick.

"You." The thief growled, narrowing his eyes.

"Yes me." Bruz sassed the criminal.

"You're persistent mutt face. Didn't expect to see you here tonight." Roman snarled to the adopted son of Max.

"I'm full of surprises. Now I'm not gonna say anything cliché like, don't move or else, but…" Bruz pulled out his wrenches again and clanged them together creating bright orange sparks. The girl in the red hood was gawking at the sight of the famous son of max who defeated Pyrrha Nikos standing before her. This day just couldn't get any better for her as she watched the hero battle against the conniving criminal. Bruz threw a wing stick at Torchwick as the lowlife fired his cane gun at the bulletproof thug. Bruz crossed his wrenches together and tanked the blast sliding back a bit. He ran at the thief with his wrenches together and brought them down on said cane. The cane bent slightly from the intense force of Bruz's devastating striking power and the weight of the solid steel wrenches.

Torchwick knew he couldn't beat the kid in a stand-up fight so he decided to play dirty. Backing off, the cigar smoking thief jumped back and fired at the spectating hooded girl. Ruby's eyes went wide as the ball of fire raced towards her. Bruz dashed to block the shot and stood with his arms stretched out to the side in defense of the girl behind him. Just as the explosive was about to hit, nothing happened. Bruz opened his eyes to see large pieces of rubble floating in the air with a purple glow. A short distance away he could hear the rumbling of a familiar engine and grinned at the turn of events. Torchwick knew of that sound, and quickly dashed for his escape which happened to be a bullhead with a mysterious pilot. Glynda formed a giant arrow with stones and threw it at the aircraft.

A girl in a red dress with a fiery pattern stepped into the light but concealed her face in shadow except for her amber eyes. She summoned a ball of fire and shielded the ship Glynda's attack. The sound of the motor rumbled even louder as it came closer and closer to the area. Bruz formed a plan in his head and waited for the right moment as the engine became its loudest. Time slowed down to reveal a black car that started to soar overhead from a nearby jump. Bruz reached his hand out and climbed over the car as it flew forward. He caught a glimpse of his adoptive father scowling straight ahead as the interceptor soared gracefully towards the aircraft. Bruz jumped from the hood of the car and clawed his hands onto the open bay of the escaping craft. His fingers tightened as the ship flew away attempting to shake him off. The girl in the red dress saw her unwanted passenger and stomped his fingers with her high heeled red dress shoe. Bruz gritted his teeth in pain as he looked up and stared directly into the glowing eye of the sadist in front of him. She seemed to smile euphorically at Bruz's suffering.

"Scrape him off already will ya?!" Roman shouted to his associate. The girl glared at her pawn for a brief moment before returning her attention to the boy that had garnered her lust. She pressed even harder on Bruz's fingers as he attempted to pull himself up while grunting from two types of pain.

"I'm not *pant* letting you *gasp* get away!" Bruz growled furiously and roared as his finger felt like they were being cut in half. The damaged appendage let go and Bruz cried out in agony as his other hand was slowly being crushed. The girl lifted her foot again and stomped down on his weary black fingers causing him to finally lose his grip and instantly time slowed to a crawl. Bruz heard his beat and all other sound seemed to fade away at that moment. The black hearted girl who had briefly tortured him, slowly brought a hand to her face. She blew him a flaming kiss and wink as slowly he dropped to asphalt of the street below. He silently screamed in rage against the fading of his enemy into the distance. The door closed and the girl smiled sadistically as she turned away from Bruz's view. Cinder felt her heartbeat slightly faster as she watched the boy fall away to the ground below like a dying angel. She enjoyed watching him suffer as if it brought a twisted sense of pleasure to her sick mind. Bruz reached for the deadly sixer and fired the grapple bolt at the fleeing ship. The bolt pierced the side of the hull and Bruz roared as he yanked on the cable flinging himself back towards the ship. Cinder opened the door back up and threw a fireball at his face. Bruz engaged his semblance again and tanked the blast but the cable snapped and his enemy just wagged her finger in manner that spoke 'naughty, naughty'.

"Bad dog." She whispered lowly enough for Bruz to hear. Just like that, it was over and Bruz once again fell to the city below. He shut his eyes as the pavement rushed towards him knowing the next second or two would be excruciatingly painful. He welcomed it with grin and collided with the asphalt, the world instantly went black. Bruz could hear voices around him some of them familiar, another not so much.

-VPD LOCAL PRECINT 13-

Max was waiting outside of the interrogation room as Glynda and Ozpin were talking with the girl in the red hood. Max was doing something he hadn't for quite a long time, smoking. He dragged on the cigarette calming his nerves. The doctors had said that despite a major concussion and needing sometime for his fingers to heal, Bruz would be fine thanks to his semblance. He breathed as the cigarette faded to ash and left nothing except for a bud. He reached inside his pocket and waited for Glynda to walk out of the room. The head disciplinarian of Beacon academy stormed out of the interrogation cell with a scowl on her face. She looked to the side to see Max kneeling down, the man reached into his pocket, and revealed a shiny gold ring with a glimmering ice dust crystal. The ring was a present from Winter and her little sister Weiss for Max to present to Glynda when the time was right. Glynda's jaw dropped and her cheeks went from burning in frustration to happiness at the sight of Max's beautiful gift. Just as he was about to speak Glynda shouted the answer at the top of her lungs. "YES!"

-END CHAPTER-


	3. Burning Frustration

Mad Max: Road to salvation: Volume 2

Episode 3[34]: Burning frustration

A/N: I had to bust my behind to bring you this so I really hope you all enjoy my hard work!

-Dman

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[Review dude: Thanks dude!]

[Romr: I appreciate that man!]

[Clearwingyuta: Thanks, I'm planning on that man, a bouncing baby boy named Owyn!]

[Wombag1786: It's about to be yep. Your welcome dude, I read the latest chapter and I hope you find the time to give it a proper send off and leave it open for a sequel.]

[dirtrevor: I admit I did, but I'd been planning it for so long I couldn't think of a better option than being spontaneous. Ye, you'll Jaune in here and he'll definitely show Max what's rumbling under the hood of his soul in due time. Nux lives on!]

[Guest 1: Yes, it does. I hope you and a few others really like what this chapter then when it comes to Jaune.]

[Guest 2: Yes it is.]

[awsomerebel: Yep, he did, and that problem will rear its head now.]

[Gamerman22: It will be, trust me.]

[Dungeon Wyrm: Thanks my dude.]

[Dinosaurchicken: Yes on all three counts! :) ]

[Charles: Don't worry man I completely understand, and Bruz will not be the center of this story. Trust me I know this is all Max, but I do have to give everyone their day in the sun. Thank you for support and I will do my best to maintain my stories.]

[TheGasMaskedMarauder: That's a possibility that she might reappear down the road. As for redemption on her end, we'll see.]

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-BEACON: SEVERAL DAYS LATER-

Things were eerily off in the prestigious academy despite the fact that it was supposed to be the day for the new students to arrive. The cause of this weirdness was an unusually happy Mrs. Goodwitch. The disciplinarian had been on cloud nine after Max had proposed to her some time ago. She couldn't help but feel elated at the idea of her marriage to the man. Max though was as stoic and grumpy as ever despite the happy occasion that was on the horizon. Him getting married to Glynda was certainly making him noticeably less grumpy but not by much. The woman's high heels clicked along the floors of the academy as she made way to the auditorium to join her fiancée and the headmaster for the announcement. She pushed open the doors to see Ozpin on the stage preparing to give his speech like last year but Max was nowhere to be seen.

"Ozpin where is my husband?" Glynda asked with her ire rising.

"Ah Glynda, Max had some business to take care of at the garage. I believe it had something to do with Emily's latest plans for the vehicle." The headmaster said nonchalantly.

"Is that so? I told him to be here on time." Glynda crossed her arms and rubbed her forehead.

"Don't stress yourself Glynda, there is still plenty of time before the announcement. If anything, you're here very early. I know he'll be here on time just like before. Max isn't one to break his promises lightly if at all." Ozpin put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"*Sigh* I suppose you are correct Ozpin." The disciplinarian sighed.

-MEANWHILE-

"What did I expressly tell you not to do in the past?!" Max growled at doctor Grey who had been tinkering with the interceptor without Max's prior knowledge.

"Oh, don't be so grouchy, it's only a few parts." Emily said as she slid out from under the vehicle's undercarriage. Several core engine parts were strewn across the floor leaving the vehicle disabled until they were replaced. They had been damaged by Emily's latest experiment with fire dust.

"Put them back now." The irritated road warrior scowled to the well meaning yet still unstable scientist.

"They're kind of broken and besides, I have so many improvements to make on the design of the engine! Don't you want your car to be even better?!" She sweat-dropped and tried to appeal to Max's desire to make improvements upon what was already a masterpiece of racing and enforcement equipment.

"I do, but I did not give you permission to touch my car today!" Max relented slightly but continued to berate doctor Grey.

"Oh fine, sheesh. I'll fix what I broke and clean up my mess." The good doctor grumbled secretly crossing her fingers. After that, Max walked out of the garage to roam the grounds and get a look at this year's prospects. The road warrior observed the arriving students showing up by the ship load as they disembarked from the transports. He read them all from head to toe, in every minute detail, every single thing from their postures, to their actions, even the way they spoke. There was so much he could tell from the way many of them carried themselves, including a seemingly wimpy blonde boy with a white breastplate, shield, and sword. There was something oddly familiar about the boy in question, though he couldn't put his finger on what exactly it was. This feeling it nagged at him, as if it were someone he knew, yet he'd never seen this boy before. The road warrior made a mental note to watch this young man for potential, if he was unlucky he'd be assigned to Max's class automatically.

-SOME TIME EARLIER-

Jaune arc was having a rough morning, not only was he feeling a massive splitting headache, but the motion sickness was acting up big time. He thought to himself about why he had to feel like he was walking through hell after he had another crazy dream last night. It didn't make much sense to him, at times it seemed like a nightmare, but during others it felt like a long-forgotten memory. Sadistic death crazed psychos, bloodthirsty killers, fire spitting cars, and himself near the center of it. What was his brain trying to tell him? This question sat there eating away at him, making him question either his sanity or identity, perhaps even both at this point. He was shaken from his ramblings by the severe urge to vomit up his breakfast of Pumpkin Pete cereal. He felt his face turn green from the whole ordeal, like it was Oum's twisted way of punishing him for something. Then again, Oum wasn't cruel, but other gods apparently were. As he was about to spew his morning feast, a hologram popped up where there had been a screen streaming the news, something about a peaceful faunus rights protest turned into a violent riot. In the place of the ever so familiar newscaster known as Lisa Lavender of VNN, was a far different woman.

"Hello, and welcome to Beacon. My name is Mrs. Glynda Goodwitch-Rockatansky. You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy! Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world." The woman said calmly and her image quickly disappeared. A small chunk escaped from his mouth and two girls who were next to him at that moment freaked out about it shortly after calling him vomit boy. The name stung his already small amount of pride slightly, but his mouth refused to hold its toxic contents any longer. As luck would have it, the ship docked and the teenage boy dashed to the nearest trash can. He was spewing his food into it like a dam relieving itself of excess water.

Two girls that had managed to go unnoticed by Max and vice versa, were briefly talking before the elder sister ditched the younger one. The red girl had the displeasure of meeting Weiss Schnee and causing an explosion that attracted Max's attention. He watched as what appeared to be Winter's younger sister that she had mentioned to him, berate the younger girl. An explosion was caused by the Schnee's carelessness and she blamed the red girl. A familiar black cat faunus appeared and Max instantly scowled down at her. After shushing the arrogant Schnee, the cat girl felt her instincts flare intensely and disappeared when the moment presented itself. She had not escaped Max's gaze and he decided he deal with her later.

The boy in the white armor walked over to the poor red girl and lowered his to her. "Hi I'm jaune." He said with a confident smile.

"Ruby" the red girl said tiredly as she was lifted to her feet. she then mentioned to Jaune about his 'accident' on the ship, and the two of them started talking.

"All i'm saying is that motion sickness is a far more common problem than people think, besides I don't get it in cars. In fact I kind of feel at home in them. Cars I mean, cause it's been that way for a while, my parents haven't made heads or tails of it. Lately, I don't like to brag but behind the wheel I rock." Jaune said with swagger to his step when it came to vehicles.

"Sorry but vomit boy was the first thing that came to mind." Ruby apologized.

"What if I called you crater face?" Jaune shot back.

"Hey that explosion was an accident!" Ruby snapped.

"Well anyway, the name's Jaune Arc, short sweet rolls off the tongue. I know ladies are gonna scream it when they see what I can do behind the wheel!" The armored boy said confidently.

"I don't know about that, but you sound reeeeeeally confident about driving. I actually heard a rumor about a rally race track that was built nearby for a drivers course." RUby said with her hands behind her head lazily.

"Yeah, recently I don't know what happened, but it's like a part of me just woke up. I know deep down that I love to race, and I'll test my mettle on that track!" Jaune tried to explain his affinity for speed with gusto.

"The teacher for the course is supposed to be really tough, like he even makes people eat dog food. But I hope you do well Jaune." Ruby said with a smile.

"That's weird, the dog food thing, and thanks." Jaune gave her a thumbs up.

"Yep, your welcome. So I got this thing." Ruby said as she brought out her scythe.

"Woah! sweet is that a scythe?!" Jaune asked in surprise.

"Thank you very much, its also a highly customizable, high impact sniper rifle." Ruby stated the nature of her weapon.

"Great, I don't have much except for this old sword and shield my family gave me but they'll get the job done." Jaune replied.

"Can I see?" The demure girl asked curiously.

"How's this?" Jaune said as he whipped out his sword in style and clanged it against his shield.

"Nice presentation." Ruby clapped.

"Thank you, thank you." Jaune bowed like a circus showman.

"Well I'm kind of a dork when it comes to weapons, I did go a little overboard when I designed this. In fact all students at signal forge their own weapons." Ruby admitted sheepishly and was especially proud of her gun-scythe.

"THat's pretty cool that you made it yourself. It's kind of the same with me and cars. That's kind of why I can understand a few things about guns like yours. Getting my hands greasy in general just comes natural." Jaune said revealing a slight black grease tinge to his fingers.

"Cool, at least I have someone to talk shop with. Did you ever hear about that guy with the black muscle car?" Ruby then moved on to a new topic.

"Ah huh, I did. I swear it's like I've seen it somewhere else in person." Jaune said as he holstered his own gear.

"Really?" Ruby asked hopefully.

"Not that I know of, but I just feel it, if that makes sense." Jaune scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

"OOOKay." Ruby shrugged.

"Hey!" Jaune said in false hurt and Ruby giggled.

"I have, a few days ago." Ruby said proudly.

"Awesome." Jaune replied.

"SO why'd you help me out." Ruby asked as they walked

"Well like my mom says, strangers are just friends you haven't met yet." Jaune replied coolly.

"So where are we going?" The hooded girl asked her new friend.

"To tell the truth I was following you, but i'm pretty sure I know where the auditorium is. Had to be observant, otherwise what kind of driver would I be?" Jaune said coolly.

"Great let's move!" Ruby said as Jaune lead the way to the auditorium.

-WITH MAX AFTER OZPIN'S SPEECH-

Since there was still daylight left, the prospective students had left the building and were taking some more time to explore the school grounds. Max returned to his post again and the rest of his crew were all outside enjoying the afternoon. Glynda was sitting on a bench with Anya humming happily while she played with Daniel. The disciplinarian was thinking to herself about plans for the wedding. Mari and Ami were talking about something between themselves, possibly about Glynda's bachelorette party. Bruz was chilling out with Dinki-di as he sat under a tree. In the midst of everything, the road warrior stood vigil over the school's courtyard and he spotted an extremely familiar face. This one girl's appearance was almost indistinguishable from a younger version of someone he'd consider a rival, Raven Branwen. The girl was a blonde with long flowing golden locks and walking beside her was the same hooded girl from a few days ago. Max narrowed his gaze at her as the blonde locked eyes with him through the sea of newcomers. At that moment it was like all other sounds and distractions in the environment had faded away into obscurity. The red themed girl next to the buxom blonde waved a hand in front of her in face, trying to get her attention.

"Uh Yang, hello? What are you looking at?" Ruby waved her hand in front of her sister's face vigorously.

"Ruby, you might want to take a step back." Yang said with her concentration on unbroken by her middle sister.

"One itty bitty question, why?" The red hooded teen asked curiously.

"Look over there and take a good guess little sis." Yang pointed to the object of her current fixation and Ruby's eyes widened in surprise. He stood proudly above the crowd, waiting for her to act. The Blonde's eyes turned red with rage at the sight of her target, the man to see her mother last.

"Oh no. Are you going to do what I think you're going to do? I thought you agreed we'd ask nicely?!" Ruby shouted at her sister in protest of what she was about to do in front everyone.

"I did, but I had my fingers crossed." Yang said as she cracked her knuckles and smiled while her eyes turned blood red in fury.

"Aw but Yang don't you think that we might get in big trouble since he's a teacher?!" Ruby groaned in protest but the eldest Xiaolong sibling gave her the stink eye. The little red girl backed off meekly at the apparent threat of her normally cool sister's wrath. "You know what, that's okay. I'll be waiting right over here. Have fun sis bye!" The red girl known as Ruby said as she took a big step back to watch the soon to be big fight. Yang tapped the concrete with her boot before running straight at the man who'd possibly helped her mother sire the triplets. Max was unflinching at her charge and stood still scowling at her with his arms patiently crossed. The man was stoically waiting, like a stone in the middle of a raging storm. Just as Yang was about to make contact, the man in black sidestepped her attack and levied a blow to the back of her head.

Yang could swear it felt like drills were piercing the back of her skull when the man's fist made contact. The angry blonde slid across the grass, getting a face full of dirt. She pounded the ground with her fist and stood back up. Max assumed a defensive posture and signaled for Yang to try again. Not wasting a second to make another attempt at beating some answers out of the possible father of her and Ruby's baby sisters, she charged once more. IT was still a wasted effort as Max continued to either avoid or parry her strikes. The road warrior was doing his best to avoid harming the child as she was supposed to be a student and he did not want Ozpin or Glynda breathing down his neck for injuring a student. He knew that his fiancée would still be mad, but he would at the very least be able say he was defending himself. At that moment, the burning blonde gracefully jumped into the air with a dramatic flair and pounded the ground. It was the exact same tactic she used when she had fought the boy whom she owed a date to. Max was knocked back by the impact but would not be bested by an inexperienced child. Yang pumped her fist at managing to at least land an indirect hit on her opponent. Yang used her Ember Celica and fired blasts of fire at the dodging road warrior. Seeing his opponent escalate the situation by using her weapons, he decided that it was time to show less restraint and prepared to use his own trusted sidearms.

Ruby decided to throw caution to the wind and cheer on her sister's assault. "Go yang, show that guy who's boss!" Ruby shouted to her sister who was focused on dueling the man in black. Max slammed his fist into her face with the well-honed speed and brutality he'd been practicing for many years. Yang's strikes were predictable since all she did was attack. There was seemingly no strategy behind her fighting style, whereas Max patiently read the flow of the battle. The blonde's temper began to show even more as her appearance made her seem as if she'd been lit on fire. Bruz watching from nearby couldn't help but feel like howling at how hot his new girl was. Mari was slightly impressed by how ballsy the blonde was at outright attacking the fiercest teacher in the school, who was fighting pretty tamely today. The foxy lady knew exactly why, so as to avoid some legal headaches and a Glynda berating. A few days ago, Glynda had acted like a bridezilla and ranted Max's ear off over something small. That was a glimpse of what certainly was to come in the future, and Mari knew the man had to tone it down unless it was an official match in his class.

Dinki-di barked at the girl, growling sternly at the unprovoked transgression she had committed against his master. A whole crowd had formed around the fighting pair, watching the spectacular showdown like it was on pay per view. Weiss was watching the leather clad battle master fight against the inexperienced hot head and snobbishly raised her nose in the air. But she was happy to see the man who'd allowed her and her sister to see each other without their father's knowledge during the raid on Schnee manor. Seeing the unusual gathering, a certain black bow wearing faunus decided to see what it was all about. Blake's eyes widened in surprise and fear when she saw the very same man who'd she had encountered so long ago in front of her now. She had come too far to run away and decided that she would watch the fight. The former white fang member knew it would be wise to learn if he possessed any exploitable weakness if he was not in the mood to be reasoned with later.

"Thanks sis!" Yang shouted to her sister as she threw a punch at Max. The road warrior gritted his teeth and barely dodged the heavy punch that was followed by a blast from her shotgun gauntlets. Thinking at lightning fast speed, he drew his own shotgun and gave the girl a wake-up call, firing into her exposed stomach. Yang heard the shot and time slowed to a crawl as she felt the wind get knocked out of her from the dual barrel blast of fire dust. Max followed up with a combo from his furious fists with several crosses and jabs ending with a haymaker. Getting even more brutal with his tactics in an effort to end the fight faster, he then smacked her upside the head with his pipe shotgun in an attempt to daze her. She growled furiously as tried to retaliate but the man in black parried her strike effortlessly, as if he had done this every single day for many years.

He struck with a heavy uppercut and levied a kick to her side. The girl slid back and charged back in with a spin kick. Max back peddled to avoid being kicked in the face by a force that could break his neck if he wasn't careful. Yang pressed the offensive, throwing furiously rapid punches at the seemingly retreating max. But it was a ruse, as he then side stepped a punch, chopping her on the back of the neck. The wasteland warfighter followed it up with another rapid double barrel blast from his other shotgun. Yang flew forwards and rolled across the ground from the raw force of two blasts at once. Ruby saw her sister struggling and urgently shouted to her sister.

"Yang look he's reloading! Now's your chance!" Ruby called out to her sister who quickly recovered in an attempt to prevent Max's reloading of both guns. Seizing her opportunity, Yang rushed Max viciously doling out jabs that he just seemed to constantly sidestepped as if he were predicting her every move. Max could tell she relied on her fists to deal punishment and he had to avoid them at all costs. This frustrated the blonde brawler as her skill set was proving useless against the man. Max's concentrated scowl never left his face as he avoided every strike. Having had enough of being pushed back, Max grabbed her fist and parried her strike. He turned her own attack back on her and sent his good knee into her stomach. Yang felt the pain and a rush of energy as the raw force transferred into her semblance. It continued to build up but he aura slowly drained from each hit that impacted her.

But all that pent up excess power meant nothing if she couldn't land a strike back. Max's knuckledusters dug into her as he struck with brutal comeback punches in his own retaliatory assault. He then headbutted her and followed up with another uppercut. Yang let her anger take control and screamed as her fury boiled over at how this guy just didn't have any quit in him. Seizing the opportunity, max let his own fury loose and started brutally smacking her around. Threw a vicious right hook that dazed her and then door kicked her chest, sending her falling to the ground. Reloading his guns with lightning dust shells, Max pointed his traditional double barrel in her face. The man's fierce blue eyes glared down at her disapprovingly, but his bone chilling stare only hardened her own resolve. She glared back with her own lilac eyes as her semblance had timed out, and for a moment no one said a single word as silence rang throughout the courtyard. The blonde knew that her aura was almost completely depleted at this point, but she had one card left to play in order to get some much-desired answers out of the man. It had to work, she just had to know the truth about her little sisters and their father. One person coughed and Max finally decided to speak to his attacker.

"Yield, I win." Max said in his usual stoic voice.

"Not until you answer me!" Yang said as she gripped Max's boot.

"I said stop. This is your last warning." The road warrior raised his voice.

"Didn't you know about your daughters huh?! Where is my mom?!" The blonde brawler shouted to him.

"What?!" Max said in surprise. Yang used this to her advantage and tried to bounce Max's boot from her torso. Totally unprepared from the massive amount of built striking force, Max was flung backwards to the ground. Yang rushed in and held her Ember Celica to max's face. She then spotted the blood running from max's chin and froze. Ruby spotted this too and shouted in warning so her sister would accidently take his life.

"Yang, stop! He doesn't have an aura!" Ruby cried out. Max then swept Yang's legs and they were back where they started with him standing over her at gunpoint.

"I warned you, and I warned your mother. This will hurt." Max cocked back the hammers of his trusty shotgun.

"Before you shoot me, you have three little girls at my house waiting to meet you!" Yang shouted at max. The crowd of new arrivals gasped at the accusation and murmured in the background.

"I don't believe you." Max narrowed his eyes and squeezed the trigger.

"Look at this picture!" Yang reached into her bosom and pulled out the latest Xiaolong family portrait.

Max's eyes widened in disbelief. "That's not possible."

"They have your eyes, that means they're yours! Now where is my mother?!" Yang snapped at the man holding her down.

"I haven't seen her in almost two years. That's it." Max replied not moving his weapon.

"Now who's lying?!" Yang snapped.

"Doubt me if you want, but I never did that with her." Max replied with his stoic visage returning.

"Actually boss, I think you did." Bruz replied as he casually strolled into the area.

"Stay out of this Bruz!" Max growled to his son/apprentice.

"No boss, I can't let you hurt my date. I knew I smelled something awhile back, I smelled Raven on you. It was back at my ship, that night when she broke in. I think she screwed you in your sleep!" Bruz replied, shocking and enlightening the crowd. Among those shocked were Glynda and the rest of Max's crew. The bride to be only twitched eye at the whole situation, she was unsure how to feel, wrathful was one thought that forced its way into her mind. Another one was simply to remain silent to digest this info, lest she upset Anya.

"So...Max...this is awkward huh." Mari said as scratched her head.

"You did whaaaaaaaat?!" Glynda finally screeched like a banshee and nearly snapped her riding crop in womanly fury at her soon to be husband.

-END CHAPTER-


	4. Figuring things out

Mad Max: Road to Salvation: Volume 2

Episode 4[35]: Figuring things out

A/N: Sorry if the quality of this one is a bit disappointing everyone.

* * *

[comedyfreak94: Eh, close but no cigar.]

[Ronmr: Yes he is. Before the joy, first comes the explanations.]

[War Boy: He is. You do have me confused for someone else actually. But thank you for the idea, maybe after I'm done with my current Zeta Gundam/Titanfall fic, I 'may' tackle IBO in some form later if that's okay. Thank you for your support of my stories.]

[Gamerman22: There will be explanations.]

[dirtrevor: Yes. Oh thank you for the idea, he most certainly will.]

[Wombag1786: Yep the sounds of the future. things are getting nuts and bolts.]

[Odinson: I was actually planning on only one son named Owyn as it has been stated by other fans to be the more desired option. Though I would love to give him more if more than a few people are okay with it. I do not want my head bitten off.]

[ClearwingYuta: Yes, and thank you very much.]

[SilentType1997: Mmmhmm.]

[Review dude: yeah, Yang f'ed up. I think there will be mercy.]

[Odinson: Just showing Jaune's confidence. This will be Jaune x Pyrrha.]

[Guest 1: Let's just say both, and you'd be surprised. Ever heard of a wet dream?]

[Charles: He did, and yes he is. Thanks man.]

[CAD D CHATTERBOX: tell you what, you send me what you got and I'll decide. The magnum opus will be reborn soon enough.]

[UndeadLord22: That it is.]

[Sam hill: I was planning on a son named Owyn. He'd resemble his mother for the most part where as his father's eyes and hair color will be dominant. But it might be possible for him to have a sibling or two. But that is only if more than a few people are open to the idea. The reason for only one son originally was because there's the girl triplets and then the boy, four equals a team.]

[Hangover: I was planning on a son named Oywn, looks like Glynda, but same hair and eyes as Max. Maybe he could have siblings though.]

[Guest 2: True that.]

[Lordofuselessness: Yes, otherwise he and Glynda couldn't have a son.]

[Guest 3: Thanks but no, I played for honor but it wasn't my style.]

[Guest 4: He'll be alright. Thanks, although I'm not entirely sure what you're getting at. Maybe you could clear that up a bit. Yeah those two (Blake and Velvet) are pretty neat.]

* * *

Glynda's fury erupted as she used her semblance to lift her fiancée into the air and several pieces of debris surrounding him. Yang, no longer under his boot heel could see the hell she'd unleashed upon the man who seemingly had no knowledge of the births of her sisters. Max flinched as he was being dragged away by his soon to be wife. Glynda then stopped and turned to Bruz with a bone-chilling glare on her face that seemed to put fear into her soon to be step son. "Bruz keep an eye on your sister while have a word with your father." Glynda spoke in an eerily calm tone with gaze unwavering. Max simply floated with a melancholy look of shame on his normally stoic face.

"Y-yes mum." Bruz stuttered and stood ramrod straight.

Glynda nodded and turned her attention to Anya. "Good, Anya behave for your brother. Your Daddy and I will be having a discussion about his indiscretions."

"What's indis- in da-?" The little faunus girl cutely tried to pronounce the word

"Don't worry about that, ok sweetie?" Glynda patted her on the head.

"Ok mommy." Anya smiled.

"Good girl." Glynda praised the sweet child and then turned her attention back to the manic mechanic. "Now Bruz, as for your 'date' she gets her one and only warning from me since I'll be too preoccupied dealing with your father. As of right now, she is on extremely thin ice."

"R-right I'll pass that on. So, uh how long will you uh-?" Bruz started to ask a question but Glynda's glare quickly intensified to a scowl. "Never mind! Just forget I asked! Come on little sis!" Bruz waved his hands in panic and ran away with his little sister in tow. Without another word, the good witch of Beacon and her leather clad fiancée disappeared into the halls of the school with a door slamming shut behind them. If one were to describe what could be seen and heard from outside the walls, it would be terrifying. Various crashes of metal and slams of rocks echoed throughout the halls for several minutes, followed by the slapping of Glynda's ridding crop. Various individuals winced from what seemed to sound excruciatingly painful. The crowd also heard what sounded like the angriest rant that could ever be produced by a single scorned woman. Many men bowed their heads in sorrow as the man figuratively had his head ripped off.

Glynda was furiously slamming max into the ground repeatedly as she screamed indistinguishable words of rage at her fiancee. The wrathful woman cursed at him and pelted him with nuts and bolts she tore from the lockers surrounding them. A flying locker door that Glynda had ripped off was slammed into max's face disorienting him. she then threw him into a wall leaving visible cracks and flung him onto the floor with her eyes twitching furiously at how her husband had not told her of the existence off the three children he'd sired with Raven. The road warrior was feeling like hammered shit the whole time. He didn't fight back as he endured Glynda's furious beating/screaming at him. It took every fiber of his being to ignore the instincts that had kept him alive but he knew he had to pay the price. For her happiness, it was certainly worth paying the toll of pain. The scorned woman continued her anger filled assault on her husband to be, narrowly avoiding harming his nether regions despite his indiscretion. She ripped a pipe from the wall and whacked him with it, causing him to grunt in pain.

-MEANWHILE-

A moment later, Bruz had gone over to the blonde who'd caused this whole mess and looked her dead in the eye.

"Hey, so uh thanks for getting your dad off me." Yang thanked the older boy and scratched the back of her head.

"We need to talk, somewhere private." Bruz said through gritted teeth as he helped up the girl who may have very well derailed his father's marriage.

"Why the hostility?" She asked cluelessly.

"Right now, considering your actions, I feel there is plenty of need for hostility." The irritated dingo faunus boy replied. Ruby, Anya and Daniel followed them to Mari's classroom where they could talk things over. The three younger members of the group could see the barely contained rage emanating from Bruz. Yang was feeling a mix of emotions at the moment, one of the most prominent being lingering anger, another embarrassment for her possible killing of a marriage.

-MARI'S EMPTY CLASSROOM-

Bruz kicked open the door and made his way onto the stage with Yang following behind. Ruby, Anya, and Daniel had taken some seats to watch the event unfold.

Bruz then turned to face the blonde bombshell with a scowl on his grizzled face. "You really had to expose my dad in front of me mum like that, didn't you?" He growled through his clenched teeth.

"How was I supposed to know he was engaged?!" Yang shot back defensively.

"How was he supposed to know if your mum screwed him?!" Bruz pointed a finger as he berated the girl.

"Well then genius, how did he sleep through it?!" Yang tried to counter.

"Ever heard of a wet dream?! I'm surprised, since the way you carry yourself says you may be the object of so many!" Bruz snapped to the girl.

"I... have... but that doesn't explain it. He would have had to be awake!" The blonde brawler blushed bright red for a moment but continued to argue.

"When you roam you hear crazy stuff, but this isn't the first time I've heard of that particular occurrence. People can screw while they're unconscious, all your mum probably had to do was reach into his pants-!" Bruz remembered hearing plenty of stories throughout his time wandering the desert alone. He then started to hypothesize just how Yang's mother managed to pull off what she did with Max.

"Woah, not in front of the innocent!" The blonde cut him short and pointed to Ruby, Daniel and Anya.

"Hey, hey, hey, both of you calm down before you ruin the innocence of children here or get into a fight!" Ruby tried to defuse the situation.

"Ruby, you are still innocent when it comes to what we're talking about." Yang shushed her younger sister.

"The point here is that you did not have to attack my dad and call him out for something he never knew! It's all on your own damn mother to take that blame as I say again that he never knew of their existence in the first place." Bruz got the discussion back on topic.

"Then I'm sorry, okay." Yang apologized for her behavior on the whole matter.

"You had better pray to Oum that me mum doesn't rip his nuts off and cancel the whole wedding. Otherwise I'll never forgive you, ever." Bruz warned the blonde with a scowl on his face. Yang couldn't help but feel terrible for what she'd done at this point, it was all her fault. If only she had listened to Ruby about playing nice. The girl in the red hood then went over to the boy with noble intentions on her mind.

"I'm sorry for what my sister did." Ruby took responsibility for her sister's actions.

"It's not your fault, so you have nothing to be sorry for." Bruz tried to wave her off.

"Still, that doesn't change the fact that she's my sister and I feel that just like she's responsible for me, I have to be for her." Ruby pressed on in her efforts to be the responsible one, her time taking care of the triplets had certainly had some effect on her.

"You got spunk little red, I'll give you that." Bruz nodded his head in respect for what the girl was trying to do.

"Thank you." Ruby said with a small smile.

"Anya, Daniel, come on. It's time I got you back to your rooms, bed time for both of you." Bruz signaled to the two little kids who had been uncomfortably silent the whole time.

"Aw but we're not sleepy." Anya piped up.

"Yeah, you don't have to make us." Daniel tried to help his friend.

"No buts you two, let's go." Bruz led the way as the two younger children followed closely behind him and the door to the classroom slammed shut behind them. The two Xiaolong siblings looked at each other and nodded. Without another word, they both silently made their way to the ballroom to sleep for the night. Unknown to both parties, the old wizard himself was watching the whole ordeal. He rubbed his chin in thought as he considered what he'd just seen in the red hooded girl. She had definitely shown one of the marks of a good leader, being loyal to a fault, even if it was her sister's and not her own. The wise headmaster then decided to check up on the situation between Glynda and Max. He strolled through the halls with a calm swagger, enjoying the splendor he knew to be his academy. Once he reached the area where Max was being berated by Glynda, the wise man known as Ozpin listened to what was going on behind a set of shut steel doors. It was quite obvious that Max was not having a pleasant experience being screamed at by his fiancée who seemed to never run out of breath during her rant. For several long minutes Ozpin listened, and after waiting long enough Glynda finally seemed to have run out of steam. What came next was sobbing mixed with indistinguishable words that were muffled by the doors. So far Max's voice had yet to utter more than a few words but at least he had spoken.

-INSIDE THE CLOSED OFF HALLWAY SECTION-

"Why Max? What did she have that I don't?" Glynda said as her tears dropped to the floor. The man stoically watched her, unwavering in his devotion. After letting her cry for a few moments, the road warrior closed his eyes and prepared himself for a rebuttal. The man had suffered quite a bit of pain during his fiancée's fit of anger, but he endured as usual. Luckily enough, she had avoided castrating him during said fit, though the possibility was mentioned very much. He slowly walked closer to her and carefully took hold of her hands, looking her straight in her red tear-filled eyes as mascara ran down in long black streaks.

"Absolutely nothing, Glynda. I promise you that this was far before I ever met you. It was with neither my knowledge or consent that those children were sired. All the blame for that belongs on their mother, not me." Max said in a clear and consistent manner with a firm honest tone.

"How do I know you aren't just giving me sweet lies to calm me down? How can I trust you when you never told me about any of this? How, can you even tell me how or not?" Glynda sobbed with her anger starting to rise again.

Max glared into her green eyes with his own fierce blue orbs and began to talk once more. "Because you know me, I have walked through the shadow of the valley of death itself, and I found what I lost, possibly even more with you! I would never throw it away for anything or anyone. You are the woman I love, not her. She abandoned her family, her husband, her daughters, all of them, only to lead that which I have fought against for much of my life. Other than being the one who birthed my daughters, she is nothing to me. You are part of my everything." He finished, bringing her into a warm hug.

"Part of it?" Glynda raised an eyebrow.

"The children." Max answered firmly.

"How could I ever forget? This doesn't mean I'm not still mad at you, *sigh* but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt this once. I'll be glad to walk down the aisle with you soon enough." Glynda shook her head with a calming smile and warmth in her heart.

"We're only human." The road warrior said with fierce conviction in his eyes that seemed to prove his words to the woman he intended to marry. With that, the lover's quarrel was over and the two proceeded towards the door. Outside the doors, Ozpin knew it would be best to leave before he was caught eavesdropping, and with all due haste he left the area just as Max and Glynda opened the doors.

"So, what should we do about them, the girls? " Glynda asked as she walked beside her husband to be.

"I'm not sure." Max shook his head at the entire situation. With all the things going on in the shadows it was too risky to bring them to beacon. The fight with Salem had been intensifying and whoever was responsible for Amber's death would waste no opportunity to use them as a way to attack him. There were simply too many variables at the moment for him to decide the proper course of action.

Glynda had also been turning over the idea in her head about what to do but neither of them could decide on a solution to the current problem. "For now, let's leave this discussion for later. We can decide what happens with them after we get married."

"Agreed." Max said calmly as the two of them made their way to the room to rest as the drama of the day had tired them both out, leaving **no extra energy for anything else**.

-THE NEXT DAY-

Max accompanied Glynda to the cliff with Ozpin to oversee the initiation. Blake was nervous in the presence of the man known as max, but she made sure not to show it. Weiss though carried herself proudly in front of the man as if she were trying to prove herself. Ruby was in a mix of feelings as she and her sister stepped over to the designated positions with the other students. The red hooded girl took a brief look at the stoic man in black and he locked eyes with her. His stare seemed to put her on edge but she took a deep breath and readied herself for the initiation. Yang though, she was back to her usual self as if she had put the whole incident behind her for now. As the headmaster explained the rules, Ruby's world was shattered at the thought of being lumped in with someone at random.

Max noticed the girl's change in demeanor and made a mental note to watch her closely. Jaune cracked his knuckles and neck as he limbered up for the job ahead. But a brief thought entered his head about how they were going to proceed if they were standing on the edge of the cliff. Ozpin cleared that up slightly, but then the armored boy put two and two together and his jaw dropped in fear. Suddenly he was flung into the air via a catapult alongside everyone else and the initiation had begun. Max, Glynda, and Ozpin, proceeded to the great hall to watch the initiation. As the event progressed the road warrior took notes on their performance in combat as well as their interactions with each other, including Weiss's disgraceful attitude which he would fix. Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos seemed to perform excellently with each other even as the boy acted bashfully around the redhead who did the same. It was clear both of them were crushing on each other.

Max began to see a confidence in the young Arc that he hadn't witnessed since his time in the wasteland on the war rig with Nux. What was it about him that reminded him so much of the young black-finger? It nagged at him like an itch he couldn't seem to scratch. Once they had all rallied later on at the temple and faced off with the massive creatures, Max had to admit, for children, they had done well. Ruby had lead them all to create a successful strategy and even landed the killing blow herself. It was blatantly clear she deserved to be the leader of her own team even if she wasn't completely ready. Sometime later, Ozpin announced the teams and Max knew it was going to be quite interesting in the coming times.

-END CHAPTER-


	5. What goes around

Mad Max: Road to Salvation: Volume 2

Episode 5[36]: What goes around

A/N: I Put in some extra effort to bring you this at this pace.

* * *

[Guest 1: Thanks, and that jerk is about to get it big time. I hope this is satisfactory.]

[Guest 2: Probably.]

[Gamerman22: Thank you.]

[Odinson: Like I said I might give him some more siblings.]

[Ronmr: You could say that, thanks.]

[Guest 3: I have changed the names to rectify that problem. The acronym should be **ATOM** now. Check chapter 21 of volume 1 to see the change. They are now **Ada, Talia, Mei**. Hope somebody guesses where I got Ada from. Hint: umbrella]

[Clearwingyuta: Thank you very much.]

[CAD D CHATTERBOX: I'll see what I can do about the material you've given me.]

[Wombag1786: Oh yes definitely. Things are going to be crazy amigo.]

[Guest 4: In order, most likely, and don't count on it. :)]

[Guest 5: Great, although I 'might' allow for some more siblings.]

[Guest 6: I completely agree, it is certainly interesting but for now let's keep things in focus on the main story.]

[Review dude: My thoughts exactly.]

[dirtrevor: It will take some time but the evidence is definitely there for him to see. Rwby building a combat racing car, that sounds cool. I know what you mean by that, Kevin Levin's wheels from Ben10.]

[Charles: Thank you good sir.]

[Ghost nappa: Err, no.]

-APPROXIMATELY TWO WEEKS AFTER INITIATION-

During the lunch period Cardin had gotten a feel for how he was going to do around here at beacon. He was strutting around like he owned the school and then he spotted a little girl and boy playing in a sandbox. The little girl was a faunus in a black dress with puppy dog ears on her head and a hairband. The boy was dressed in khaki brown jean shorts and a black tank-top, he had silver spiky hair and Red eyes. The boy had birthmark on his back that resembled a bird of some sort. The girl and boy were playing happily with each other until a group of big shadows loomed over them. The boy looked up at the four shadows to see a group of older boys standing above him.

"Well look what we've got here. Another little freak and her animal loving friend!" Cardin said mockingly as he towered over the children.

"Hey Cardin she's got little puppy ears!" Dove grabbed one of Anya's extra ears.

"Ow stop it that hurts!" The little girl cried.

"Wow they're so real!" Cardin said in false amazement as he Yanked hard on the poor child's other dog ear.

"Let go of her you big bullies! Man check!" Daniel shouted as he punched sky in the balls and then tried to free Anya.

"OOOOOOHHhhhhhh." Sky wheezed from being hit in the balls by the tenacious little boy. "Why you little…!"

"I've got him!" Russel picked up Daniel and gave him a severe wedgie. "Now get lost twerp! Ha Ha!" The bully laughed as he threw the poor boy into the air and kicked him to the ground.

"Dinki-di!" Anya shouted to the heavens in pain. Nearby, a certain hound was rummaging through the garbage dumpsters out of habit despite being fed high quality dog food and meat. It was habit for this viciously loyal creature as the personal pet of Max. All of a sudden, the dog stopped his dumpster dive and sniffed the air at the sound of Anya's cry for help. He stuck his head up to the sky and howled as loudly as his lungs would allow. Almost the entire school could hear the cry from the hound. With that done, the dog took off lightning fast as his four legs passed by each other at record pace. He ran past passing students and plowed through several bushes and other vegetation in his way. He snarled and howled as he leapt over benches and small walls. The loyal hound arrived on the scene and started barking furiously as he rushed the bullies biting and snapping at them. After swiftly knocking down Cardin's followers, the war hound made a beeline for Cardin who was currently harming Anya. He ducked under the bully's fist and clamped his mighty jaws down on the large boy's manhood. Cardin froze in pain while letting out tears and making a high-pitched screech. As the other boys ran to attack the fierce guard dog, he clamped down harder in response.

"N-no don't get any closer, he'll rip it off!" Cardin warned to his teammates who stopped advancing. The dog seemed to loosen his grip slightly as the boys slowly backed away. Cardin felt the pressure ease and breathed in slight relief.

"Good boy Dinki-di! You guys are in big trouble! You guys are in big trouble!" Anya petted the pooch and sang happily as a loud engine roar was heard in the distance. The other boys felt their blood freeze in fear as they were lifted into the air by an unseen force. Glynda's eye twitched as she angrily twirled the boys around in the air enough for them to feel sick. The black car roared into view and skidded to a halt in front of the boys. Out of the driver's side stepped the most feared teacher in Beacon academy. Max cracked his knuckles as he stared at the boys with a look of pure fury on his face. The boys collectively gulped in fear of the coming punishment that was about to come.

"You guys are soooo dead now!" Daniel shouted as he dusted himself off and walked over to his friend who thanked him for trying to help with a peck on the cheek. Daniel stood ramrod straight and blushed bright red.

-MAX'S CLASSROOM: AFTER LUNCH-

Max stood silently at the head of his class as he watched the new students file into the room. Teams RWBY and JNPR had the great misfortune of being assigned to him for today as an extra class and some members were 'uncomfortable' with this. But they had to suck it up or else, and no one wanted to find out what 'or else' meant. As they did so, many of them were showing undisciplined behavior such as talking in class and even cursing. After all the students had finally finished walking into the class the road warrior decided on a display of force. He pulled his trusty sawed off from his hip and pointed at the ceiling. The unruly behavior of the class continued and max silently continued before discharging the shotgun and unleashing a deafening bang. Some of the clenched their ears at the sound despite having heard gunfire before. The acoustics of the room had been modified so that the volume of the weapons fire would serve this very purpose. With that done, the attention of all the young minds, even the 'problem cases', was focused on him. Max lifted a finger into the air and pointed at the students, motioning for them to sit down. The dumb ones just stood there while the smarter ones caught on and followed the silent order. The meatheads of the group started trying to be funny and disrupt the class. Max frowned and grabbed a nearby microphone to amplify his efforts.

"All of you who want to disrupt this class line up here, now." Max growled over the speakers. The disruptive ones made their way to the designated spot in front of the arena grumbling all the while. After that, Max decided to show them what discipline means. He grabbed the first one at the head of the line, which happened to be one Cardin Winchester, behind him were his three cronies. Cardin fussed as Max dragged him over to center of the arena and lifted him up by scruff his uniform.

"Let go of me asshole!" Cardin shouted to Max but was ignored.

"This is an example of those who cause trouble!" Max shouted to the class who watched as their classmate flailed helplessly in the road warrior's grip. Before Cardin could react, he was slammed onto the ground by Max. The bully had really felt that pain as he picked himself up from the arena floor. "Now run a mile around the arena."

"Grr you can't just do that to me!" Cardin barked in defiance.

"It's my job, if you refuse to be taught, then I will teach you." Max narrowed his eyes.

"If I had my gear I'd-!" Cardin started to retort but max cut him short.

"Then go get it." Max said calmly.

"You're gonna be in for it then old man!" Cardin said with a grin as he made his way to locker room. after a few minutes of waiting, the bully returned with a cocky look on his face while Max stood stoically with his arms crossed. Max signaled for the bully to attack him. Seeing the opportunity in front of him, Cardin ran head on at the teacher with reckless abandon. Max waited as the moment arrived, and then he skillfully disarmed and whacked Cardin upside the head with his own mace. Max twisted Cardin's arm and made him cry for him to stop. Max did stop twisting but refused to release his uncooperative student. He then knocked Cardin forward to the floor and repeatedly bashed the boy's head onto the mat. The other students who were not there of their own volition shivered as they watched the beatdown. Max seemed to derive some satisfaction from this as Cardin eventually tapped out. Seeing that the time was up, Max let Cardin go and stood up.

"Let this be your first disciplinary lesson, if you cause enough trouble beyond my wife's ability to enforce the rules, you will be sent here to me as you already know. Beyond that if you still misbehave, you will be expelled and banished to never return here again for any reason. I am not a patient man when it comes to disobedience and he is the prime example. You will be dealt with swiftly and decisively. If you are here to learn, then I will teach you. If you need 'help' to learn, I will push you. If you refuse to learn and harm or impair your fellow students, or perhaps grab the ears of my daughter, you will be punished like this boy! This is a temporary class for some of you as a preview for a continued lack of discipline, you will resume your normal schedules tomorrow and catch up with your missed assignments. Is that understood?!" The road warrior bellowed to the class who all stood up ramrod straight in fear.

"YES SIR!" They all shouted in unison, even RWBY and JNPR.

"Good. The rest of you in line, you are to gather your combat gear and run one mile, any backtalk and you will all run another. Those of you who chose this class, gather your gear, form another line and I will fight you. You will learn your weaknesses and your homework will be to fortify them. Now go." Max bellowed his orders to the students and they did as they were told. Max's class continued on for some time that way as he quickly overwhelmed the students one by one with his advanced skills. He used less harmful tactics than what he did with Cardin to ease them all into it. Many of the students were swiftly defeated but some put up short-lived fights with their semblances. He steadily faced the students until he reached Jaune who happened to be in front of Weiss. Max then pulled him aside and brought Cardin over as well. He instructed the class to return their gear and sit back down in their seats. A few minutes passed and everyone had done as they were asked. Max signaled to his teacher's aide (Bruz) to set the board for the readout. The manic mechanic grinned as he turned on the combat simulation mode. Jaune and Cardin assumed the same fighting positions they had normally in Glynda's class. The young Arc had been performing at less than desired and was to be temporarily shoved on to Max for help until he improved. The road warrior then signaled for the fight to begin and Cardin charged in to deliver the first strike and release his own frustration on the boy he treated as a punching bag.

"Is that all you've got wimp huh?!" The bully barked joyously as he swung his mace onto Jaune's shield.

"You haven't seen anything yet Cardin!" Jaune shouted back defiantly as holstered his sword and pressed both arms behind the shield.

"All bark no bite Arc! You're still the same wimp to me!" Cardin shouted as he pushed Jaune down onto his knee and then time seemed to slow down for the young Arc. He could hear a voice whispering to him in the back of his mind, it was telling him to fight, to be strong, to be crazy. The voice seemed to echo louder and louder until it was practically screaming at him. In the real world, Jaune's eyes flared brightly and he let out a war cry shoving Cardin back and clanging his sword against the family shield. A crazy grin appeared on his face as he swiftly rushed towards Cardin. The larger boy swung his mace but Jaune ducked under the attack and headbutted his foe. Cardin reeled in pain from that and tried once again to smash the nimbler leader of JNPR.

Jaune brutally shoulder bashed the larger boy and sent him rolling across the floor. "Oh, what a lovely day! What a lovely day!" The young arc shouted crazily as he furiously attacked the boy who'd tormented him in recent days. Meanwhile in his head, his body was fighting, yet here he was in his own mind watching it happen, with absolutely no control. All his pent-up anger was finally being released on the bully of Beacon. He wondered to himself briefly about his state of mind but was shaken from this as Cardin managed to smack him in the face.

"Go jaune you can beat him!" Ruby shouted to her friend.

"Take him down!" Yang cheered from the seats.

"We know you can do it Jaune!" Pyrrha urged her partner to keep fighting his nemesis.

Shaking his head, Jaune felt himself regain control and cross weapons with Cardin. The young Arc roared as he held back his opponent's mace and started to push forward despite Cardin's size and muscle. With a mighty heave, Jaune knocked away Cardin's mace and pounced onto the bully. He holstered his weapons started punching Cardin in the face repeatedly. Having had enough of this, Cardin knocked the berserk Jaune off of him and grabbed the smaller boy by his throat. He threw Jaune across the arena retrieved his mace from the ground. Jaune ran his fist across his forehead to remove some sweat and gritted his teeth. The aura meters were both getting low and only one of them would be the victor today. Jaune unholstered his weapons and charged back at Cardin again for one final strike. Cardin swung his mace and hit Jaune just as he was shield bashed and both of them were out of the fight with their aura's in the red. The furious battle had finally ended in a draw.

Max had been slightly stunned by Jaune's performance during the fight, especially when he seemed to go crazy and cut loose. The boy didn't win, but it was apparent that he wasn't the pushover he'd originally seemed to be. The other students who'd suffered at Cardin's hands cheered at the smackdown despite it being a draw. Jaune laid there on the ground and breathed heavily as he felt the adrenaline wear off. Max instructed all the boys to go get redressed shortly before the bell rang and everybody filed out.

-SOME TIME LATER-

After being congratulated by RWBY, the leader of JNPR and his team went on to their next class.

"What was that Jaune? I've never seen you fight like that before." Pyrrha asked her crush.

"Yeah you beat the tar out of that jerk Cardin!" Nora shouted happily.

"I don't really know, and I didn't win though." Jaune said slightly depressed that he couldn't beat Cardin.

"It was a draw, but at least you stood your ground against him." Ren said reassuringly.

"I guess that's true. But all I think I did was give him even more reason to come at me." Jaune said dejectedly.

"We'll be right here beside you when you need us." Pyrrha said with a confident smile.

"Thanks, Pyrrha." Jaune smiled back.

-WITH RWBY-

"Jaune was on fire in mister Rock's class today!" Yang said in amazement at Jaune's performance.

"He was certainly different than if we were in our other class with miss Goodwitch." Blake remarked.

"I can agree with you on that. It was like he turned into someone else." Weiss agreed with the B of RWBY.

"What matters is that Jaune held his own!" Ruby piped up.

"Hey Weiss, don't you mean missus Rock?" Yang changed the subject.

"They haven't been married yet, that's still a week off, and their name is Rockatansky." Weiss corrected the blonde.

"Meh, might as well call them that you know." Yang shrugged.

"No, I don't know." Weiss said sourly.

"Hey Weiss, look at that kid over there." Ruby pointed at the children in the sandbox.

"What kid Ruby?" Weiss asked in an irritated tone.

"That little boy in the sandbox with that little girl. Isn't he supposed to be miss Amy's son?" Ruby told her partner.

"I think so, why is this important, Ruby?" Weiss asked with her hands on her hips.

"I'm with the ice queen on this. What's the big deal?" Yang crossed her arms.

"He looks a lot like you Weiss. It took me awhile to notice though." Ruby explained.

"That's preposterous." Weiss dismissed the idea.

"look at him, he looks like a little boy version of you! But something about him reminds me of uncle Qrow too." Ruby pointed out the boy's numerous physical traits.

"Like what?" Yang asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I dunno, just a gut feeling really. Anyway, are you sure you don't have any cousins Weiss?" Ruby answered her sister and continued asking the heiress.

"Well perhaps I do, but I haven't met them if they still exist. I have heard some members of my extended family disappeared. But there's no way he or even miss Futaba could be a Schnee. That's simply impossible." Weiss disputed the claim.

"You mean, improbable. If anything, we could ask doctor Grey to run a DNA test." Blake offered up an idea.

"Who's doctor Grey?" Ruby asked curiously.

"The head researcher/nurse, Amy Futaba is her assistant. I did my research." Blake said half truthfully.

"So, let's pluck some hairs then!" Yang yanked a loose strand from Weiss's head and one of her own.

"OW! Don't do that you dolt!" Weiss snapped at the blonde brawler who teasingly waved the strand of snow white hair.

"Two down, one to go." Blake said as she walked over to the children in the sandbox. She casually passed by and plucked a hair from the boy. After apologizing the secret cat faunus returned to her team and the they used their free time to visit the infirmary/science ward.

-END CHAPTER-

A/N: Let me be clear, Daniel possibly related to the schnees. **Amy is Daniel's birth mother**!


	6. Practicing both Science and Medicine

Mad Max: Road to Salvation: Volume 2

Episode 6[37]: Practicing both Science and Medicine

* * *

[Ronmr: Close but no.]

[TheGasMaskedMarauder: I was 'coerced' by some of the other reviewers for Max to wear protection. They did 'it' but no Max baby for Winter.]

[CAD D CHATTERBOX: You got it man, will do, and thanks! I think you might like this episode's later half.]

[Gamerman22: Yes she truly needs protection, that shall be delved into more as I must resolve it, I believe this episode's later parts will be very entertaining then.]

[dirtrevor: Thank you for pointing that out, I have tried to fix that.]

[Clearwingyuta: Thank you, he will find out when the time is right.]

[Guest 1: I see that.]

[Guest 2: Not too close but perhaps hopefully close enough for it to be okay.]

[Guest 3: Your welcome and Thank you, it will be sweet to make the bad guys squirm.]

[Wombag1786: Perhaps, and you'll find that relation thing out now. I suppose we'll see.]

[Guest 4: I'll try not too.]

[Review dude: Yes, the day will come. :)]

[Lordofuselessnes: Yeah scary, but Dinki-di was retrained a bit for that, and similarly intelligent as Zwei, so just the meat, not the jewels.]

[Dinosaurchicken: Yes, now for part 2 of that deserved pain.]

[SilentType1997: Yeah you're right, I should've saved that for a better moment.]

* * *

-THE SCIENCE WARD/INFIRMARY-

The good doctor had been enjoying her day so far, performing experiments and what not in the science ward. Amy though was out running errands for the day and unable to assist the doctor in her duties until later to work the night shift on some medical work. Emily had to admit, without her girl-friend around it was quite lonely. She was currently busy working on a design upgrade for a project Bruz had been working on. The young mechanic had been extremely secretive about it, but since he and the good doctor had an agreement she knew a few details. Recently Max had been collecting spare parts from junk yards and weapons from some of the criminals he'd dealt with. Bruz had figured since those parts would be scrapped, he'd put them to use for something else, with Emily's help of course. One case in which the retrieval of scrap had been dangerous was when Max found a boneyard of old VDF vehicles that a group of cultists was living in.

-SEVERAL WEEKS AGO-

Max was driving with Bruz to an old abandoned VDF boneyard where the Vale military disposed of their old weapons and vehicles. The forces that once controlled it had been driven out by Grimm that were strangely attracted to the site. After the Vale soldiers pulled out due to unsustainable attrition, and the Grimm moved on, a group of cultists had moved into the old boneyard. From there the cultists began harmlessly breaking down the old military junk and reusing it. Enough time passed and they began looking to expand, including forcibly spreading wisdom of their machine gods to other settlements. They claimed innocent lives in their short-lived rampage that Max and Bruz had gone to stop. The two fighters had gone on the mission to eliminate them and grab the useful bits of scrap for parts. For Bruz and Max this would count as a chance to go all out again and practice the lethal side of their talents. After several hours of driving they reached the military vehicle graveyard. Max pulled to a stop on a hill just outside the perimeter fence for some recon. He pulled out the old sniper rifle and handed Bruz his binoculars to spot for him as he had been practicing with Aurora.

"I spot two targets, over by that stack of tires. Windspeed, 5 knots." Bruz said coolly as he marked two cultists who seemed to be on a smoke break. He continued marking targets all over the area for Max who attached a suppressor to the barrel of the old yet effective high precision weapon. The road warrior chambered a round and picked off a sentry so as to avoid a repeat of what happened in the desert a year ago. He took a breath and squeezed the trigger, less than a second later the sentry's head exploded. Max chambered another round and took out a target that was about to 'round the corner. He then shot out the light near the bodies to make them less visible in case anyone came near the corpses. Max then fired shots in rapid succession killing three guards in a row. As he reloaded Bruz spied someone who looked important, a man wearing what appeared to be a tattered set of priest robes. The important man was covered in grease spatters and dried blood. Several of the cultists kneeled before him, an obvious prophet who leads them. Bruz pointed him out and the very sight made Max's fury bubble up from below, a reminder of the Immortan Joe. The way the followers seemed to behave in his presence gave max an urge to kill the twisted prophet with his bare hands.

Knowing his target wouldn't be in the open for long, Max began sniping enemies all over the place. Most of the were clean kills, some were throat shots, but that was when he missed the head or didn't go for the heart. They all died quickly and brutally in their last moments. In a brilliant display of master marksmanship from his long and miserable existence in the wasteland, Max had cleared a swath of enemies from the camp. After that, he holstered the bolt-action sniper rifle and hauled out his fully automatic assault rifle to lay waste to the cultists. Bruz cocked his own SMG and grinned at the opportunity to bust some heads. The two of them charged in on foot firing at the surprised cultists who'd only barley begun to realize their thinned numbers. Max shoved his rifle into the face of one cultist blowing his head to bits while Bruz who'd holstered the gun, brawled against a cultist with aura. The brute tried to slam a massive hammer down upon him but Bruz activated his semblance and defensively crossed his dual wrenches. The hunks of raw industrial steel clashed with resounding clangs and booms as their wielders threw down. The manic mechanic used his superior training to avoid the hits and slammed his wrenches down on perceived weak spots. The battle lasted for several minutes as Max focused on the less resilient grunts. He'd felt Bruz needed to practice on harder targets so that was why he'd allowed the younger fighter to take on the hammer brute. By the time everything was said and done the battlefield was littered with corpses and gallons of spilt blood. The prophet had been wounded and was bleeding profusely in front of his makeshift temple. Wasting no time, Max brought out the pipe-scatter and blew off the demented preacher's head. Bruz shivered a bit at how ruthless Max could still be but let it go and went on collecting the parts for his secret project.

-FLASHBACK OVER-

The good doctor brought her thoughts back to her work and hummed to herself brightly as she examined an artifact that Qrow had brought in sometime ago. Whatever the device seemed to be, it was very advanced and had orange glowing lights all over it. She had been trying to decipher it for quite some time, but her research only yielded more questions rather than answers. All she figured out was the obvious glowing energy was a result of its power source and the it was of a cubic structure. Just as she was about to run another test on the device, there was a knock on the door of the science ward.

"Come in! But I must warn you I'm a bit busy." Doctor Grey said as she hastily covered the artifact, the members of team RWBY then walked into the room.

"Are you Doctor Grey? I'm Ruby and this is my team." Ruby introduced herself as well as her fellow team members. They then introduced themselves individually and Doctor Grey reciprocated her own greeting.

"Well it's very nice to meet you girls. What brings you to my corner of the school? Are you here to see my assistant? If so, I'm afraid she's currently out on personal business for today." Doctor Grey greeted the students and spun around on her chair to face them.

"No, but we have a question for you. Is it okay if you look at these DNA samples and tell us how close they are to each other?" Blake asked as she presented the hair strands to the doctor.

"I suppose I could away from my work for a bit. But why these hair samples? What are you girls up to?" The doctor stood up from her work bench and stretched.

"Just a little bet we had with each other, no biggie." Yang said casually.

"I get the feeling you're all up to something." The good doctor narrowed her eyes at the four girls in suspicion.

"Doctor grey, if you must know we're looking into a bit of family history So this is a bit personal." Weiss stepped forward and told her a half truth.

"Alright I won't pry, but if this is something serious I will find out soon enough." The Doctor relented.

"Fair enough doctor. Here you go." Blake handed Emily the samples.

"Alright let's put the samples under the microscope." Doctor Grey said as she put the hairs on slide and began examining them one by one. The silver and ice white samples were farther from each other than the golden strand was to the younger silver strand. "Interesting." The good doctor said from behind the scope.

"What?" Ruby asked inquisitively.

"Yeah, what's up doc?" Yang asked with a raised eyebrow and a hand on her hip.

"I can tell that the golden strand belonging to you Yang, is far closer to this third strand than Weiss's. Obviously not the same parent though, if anything some elements resemble your uncle Qrow's DNA." Doctor Grey wrinkled her brow as explained the nature of the DNA.

"OOOOOkaaay, how do you know our uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked the good doctor.

"I used to date him Ruby, keywords used to. Don't ask how I know what his DNA looks like." Doctor Grey replied darkly.

"Oh, you did? If you don't mind me asking why'd you break up?" Yang started to pry but was stopped by Weiss.

"That's not important right now you dolt! What of my results doctor?! Tell me." Weiss snappedat the blonde brawler and demanded a further explanation from the doctor.

"Well excuuuse me, ice queen." Yang said sourly.

"On your part Weiss, the third sample seems to have gone through two generational stages of diversity from your own. If I had to guess, it came from a close parental cousin. But I wouldn't know which one without a sample of their own DNA." Emily explained Weiss's relation to the third sample to the best of her ability.

"But how? My parents never mentioned any of their siblings in the past. I mean I understand it's possible that I may have an aunt or uncle, but I never knew them if I really do." Weiss said as she put a hand to her chin.

"Well wherever this came from… wait a minute. I've seen this before, when I did my last pediatric check up with Daniel…" Doctor Grey was about to continue but then she noticed the similarities and remembered the last time she medically examined the little boy.

"Who's Daniel?" The girls asked in unison.

"Ruby and Yang's cousin/your cousin's son, miss Schnee. I have no doubt that Amy is your cousin Weiss." Doctor Grey went dead serious as she pointed to three of the four girls, who were shocked by the nature of the revelations laid out before them.

"So, I'm related to the assistant head nurse?!" Weiss shouted incredulously.

"And that little guy out there is our cousin. Oh, uncle Qrow has some explaining to do, big time." Yang looked outside to see the little boy and girl still playing together and growled about what she'd do when Qrow showed up again.

"Well this is awkward…" Ruby said as she shuffled her feet nervously.

"It appears we may have some questions for miss Futaba then." Blake crossed her arms and frowned.

"I don't think you'd find any answers with her. You'd have to ask her own family, one of which should be Weiss's relative. But if you really want to try here's my advice, if she doesn't know then you should stay out of it. Although I know I won't be able to stop you, I heavily discourage any further investigation. Think about it, if my colleague knew who she really was, wouldn't she have reacted when Weiss decided to attend this academy?" Doctor grey frowned and shook her head pinching the bridge of her nose afterwards.

"Then we have to show her the truth! It's Weiss's responsibility to tell her, and it's our responsibility as Weiss's teammates to help." Ruby said proudly in a heroic pose.

"Ruby…" Weiss said with wide eyes.

"Whatever you decide is up to you." Doctor Grey waved her hand dismissively. "Now if you don't mind, I have more work to do."

"Of course, thank you for your assistance doctor." Blake said calmly.

"Yeah thanks doc, now Ruby and I know we have an adorably cute little cousin to squeeze!" Yang said with a big smile on her face.

"Thank you, doctor, this has certainly been enlightening." Weiss thanked the doctor.

"Your welcome girls, now run along." Doctor grey said as she shooed them out the door of the science ward. The good doctor then went back to her work on the mysterious device once she was sure the girls were long gone.

-A FEW HOURS LATER-

The boys of team CRDL were feeling the worst kind of pain after Max's class as well as their normal schedule. They were now slated for detention, which would normally be with miss Glynda, but would be subbed for by Mari who was waiting for them. The foxy huntress whose had been burning with fury at the four brutish boys' treatment of the innocent children, had the perfect punishment. Her revenge would come in the form of extremely painful extracurricular work. Said work just happened to be a combat match against her, and she pulled no punches during her remedial lesson. She wiped the floor with the four boys who had no chance against a veteran huntress like herself. Each one of them had a brutal finish with their auras shattering by the time the match was over. They had been somewhat injured from the exercise and sent to the infirmary by Mari who feigned being apologetic. Eventually they reached the infirmary where their next episode of pain in a series of unfortunate events was waiting. They barged into the room to see the lights eerily dimmed with the normally kind and happy go lucky nurse miss Amy Futaba was sitting in the shadows. Three of the four brutes shivered slightly in fear from the creepy atmosphere surrounding them, but not Cardin who put on a tough guy act.

"You boys terrorized the little ones correct? In fact, I believe I heard that one of you four even wedgied my darling little boy Daniel and kicked him." Amy said in a mostly cold and venomous tone with a dash of anger as she crossed her legs and held her together like a seductive female supervillain.

"Listen lady we're already in enough pain from what that asshole mister Rock did to us and your faunus freak wife! Now make it stop!" Cardin barked to the nurse who showed no emotion at his snarling.

"Oh Emily, would you mind helping me treat these boys?" The nurse called out to her friend and superior for 'help'.

"Why of course, it would be my pleasure Amy." Doctor Grey started chuckling creepily as she walked through the lab doors, a flash of light glinted from her glasses and a dark purple aura radiated from her presence.

"Okay, have a seat on the table, boys." The nurse said with a disturbingly creepy tone. The four of them sat down on the table but they soon found themselves unable to move.

"Hey what is this?! I can't move!" Cardin roared as he fought against the unseen wire that seemed to stick them in place like little nearly invisible sutures held him and his team to the table.

"I'm stuck!" Sky said as he pulled against the restraints.

"Me too!" Dove cried out.

"What's going on here?!" Russel exclaimed in fear.

"Thank you for restraining the patients doctor. Now as for you boys, just relax. You won't feel a thing." Amy said in a sweet sing song tone with a dark smile on her face. She then strapped on a pair of rubber gloves and pulled out a big needle. The boys then proceeded to wet themselves in sheer terror.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHH!"

-SOME TIME LATER-

The boys tattled on the healthcare professionals to Ozpin who accompanied them to the infirmary.

"Miss Futaba, these boys have told me you went too far in your treatments. Is this true?" The wise headmaster asked calmly.

"Oh no professor! I did nothing of the sort, these boys are simply overreacting to my hard work to help them. Ask my dear colleague Emily and she will agree." The deceptively calm and normally kind-hearted nurse said in her cheerful voice.

"Emily?" The wise head master looked to the good doctor.

"She's telling the truth Ozpin. I watched the entire procedure." The good doctor said as she crossed her fingers behind her back in a lie.

"It appears the four of you boys have cried Grimm." Ozpin frowned.

"These two creepy freaks tortured us!" Cardin roared to the headmaster.

"Enough lying, all four of you are to leave to your dorm before I have to offer more punishment." Ozpin tapped his cane to the ground to emphasize his point. The boys reluctantly obeyed the order, grumbling all the while. Once they were gone Ozpin sighed and looked at the two women with disappointment. "Only once shall I let this go, it was wrong what they did to your child and the tiny fall maiden which Is why I am allowing this string of excessive punishments. Is that understood?"

"Of course, Ozpin we won't be doing this ever again. Right Emily?" Amy said sweetly as she put one hand over the over while she sat in her rolling chair.

"Oh yes, we promise." Doctor grey stuck one hand in a swearing motion.

"Good, now I must return to my work as should the both of you." Ozpin said as he turned to walk away, he failed to notice both of them had crossed their fingers in one hand.

-END CHAPTER-

A/N: How did you all like part 2 of CRDL punishments? I wanted to do this because I couldn't resist. Next chapter will not have more of it, as I don't want to over do it.


	7. Black Ink, Tainted Fire, Orange Stripes

Mad Max: Road to Salvation: Volume 2

Episode 7[38]: Black Ink, Tainted Fall Fire, and Orange Stripes

A/N: I know it's a spoiler but if you pay attention you might find a certain little demon named 'Bendy'. Oh and sorry for the 1 week delay, I got caught up with another story of mine as well as a bad case of writer's block.

* * *

[dirtrevor: yeah it does, but a good kick kick in the pants can usually fix that depending on the person.]

[guest 1: I wasn't planning on changing that (Qrow x Winter). I'm done putting them through hell like that, I made that clear in the last author's note at the bottom of the last page.]

[guest 2: yes it does.]

[Gamerman22: Yep, and maybe, maybe not.]

[EnriksD8: Hopefully this episode will fix that for you.]

[guest 3: They're real good doctors alright, and those aren't bad ideas.]

[TheGasMaskedMarauder: All I will about that at this point is that it's possible, so I won't rule it out happening later as I had considered Griffa making his presence further known as the story progresses.]

[guest 4: Don't worry that's not changing (Qrow x Winter), and I'll explain why pretty soon.]

[guest 5: They did, but you might have missed something about Amy's backstory earlier in the first volume or I may have forgotten to put it in. If you wait I will address the issue soon enough to explain to the whole thing.]

[Charles: I understand that dude and thanks.]

[Dinosaurchicken: Yeah, but it's a 'mad world'.]

[Clearwingyuta: I don't disagree with you there.]

[Wombag1786: Yeah I agree with you, but it seemed like I should let an angry momma bear get payback for her cub.]

[Lordofuslessness: Ooookay, I don't know what to say about that. I'll see what I can do about that Trans-am, but no promises.]

[CAD D CHATTERBOX: Thanks dude.]

[Review Dude: This isn't all just on Yang this time, all four girls are in this together. If anything, this is Weiss looking into her family history and her teammates are helping her, for Yang she now knows she and Ruby have a cousin. I see where you're coming from and I promise I'm done putting them through hell like that for now. As for Joe, and Scrotus being reborn... if they ever do, it'll be with someone more appropriate than CRDL.]

* * *

-ANYA'S DREAM WORLD-

The tiny half fall maiden was peacefully frolicking around in her dreamscape enjoying the aspects of a fantasy. She had been sitting on top of a wall in front what appeared to be a race track where she saw her father's car outpacing other high-tech looking vehicles with it's shiny black paint gleaming in the imaginary sunlight. As the race progressed Anya imagined her other friends and family watching the sport. It was in her eyes a good dream to watch her father racing. But then the blue sunny sky over the track and it started to pour down buckets of rain. The interceptor spun out and bashed into another car, causing to fly over the track's wall. As the rain came down a black mist rolled in from all sides and what emerged next from the mist was a horde of grim. The beasts swarmed over the track as the people all disappeared, vanishing into thin air. Anya then found herself falling from her once spectacular perch in the sky downward into the terrifying darkness of the Sodom below.

As she felt herself hit the dirt, the scared and alone little girl began to cry to herself as voices echoed around her in pain and fear. She opened her eyes slightly to see a little friendly looking creature in the darkness. The creature wore a little white bowtie on his neck and two horns on his head. He turned to face Anya with a smile on his old cartoon face. Feeling less scared for a moment Anya waved to the cartoon. But then the little devil started changing into a disturbing twisted ink black creature with his white bowtie and horns growing larger on his head. Ink dripped down down and covered the top half of his face, while his smile became a Cheshire grin of madness that grew even wider he slowly approached. Then a bright red light appeared with a menacing glow, almost as if it were radiating from a flame of sadistic evil. A slow and steady clacking noise from high heeled shoes could be heard as the screams died down. Anya looked up to see a face shrouded in darkness with a devilish smile and bright eyes that burned malevolently. The frightened little girl immediately got to her feet and ran into the depths of the blackness of the void with tears streaming down her face. The forces of pure evil continued to pursue her with the glow of red fires burning all around her as she ran. It was as if hell itself had invaded her nightmare as grim howls and blood cries reverberated throughout the once pristine land that had been reduced to a hellscape of ash and madness. Her heart thumped in her chest rapidly as she searched for safe haven from the emissary of darkness that followed her path.

A distorted female voice of temptation begun to ring in her ears. "Don't worry young one, no harm will come if you surrender yourself to the will of my servants."

"No go away and leave me alone!" Anya refused to listen to the voice's words as she ran for her life.

"Don't you want to be my friend? It will be fun, all you must do is join with me and embrace your destiny." The voice's words began to grow irritated slowly escalating its requests to demands for her to give up.

Anya spotted a ruined and crumbling building that resembled her home of Beacon. She looked and the dead trees and flora that once presented a graceful aura of hope and peace, now emanating a message of loss and despair. She ran to where her father's racing garage would be, past all the dried piles of skeletal remains and broken weapons that littered the ground. She banged on the garage door begging for someone to let her into the sanctum where her father's vehicle usually resided.

"Come here Anya, don't you want someone to care for you? Life would so much better if you come with me." The figure of fiery madness appeared again, along with the ink black creature, calling her name now, it beckoned for her to come over.

"No, I already have a family! I have a friend! Just stop and go away!" Anya knew the promise was a lie, she knew to be afraid. The ink monster began merging with the feminine figure covering the form in pitch black ink. A newly born figure of darkness relished the child's fear, absorbing the sustenance of despair that came from its prey. Anya curled into a ball and started crying as the sweet-talking demoness approached her with a gleam in its red eye. Dark claws formed in the hand that reached towards her like that of a grim creature taunting its food before consuming it. Just as the hand of darkness was about grab hold of her, a blast echoed like a crack of thunder followed by a bolt of furious lightning. The demoness screeched in agonizing pain as the bolt struck with such swift ferocity and godly might. Anya opened her eyes and her tears were no longer ones of sorrow as she saw a truly magnificent sight zoom towards her location.

A gleaming black war machine roared with rage as its tire tore through the dust and ash of the dead land. Blue fire akin to the majesty of a true dragon's breath lit up the sky with shades of beautiful blue. The car struck the demoness and it was thrown through the scorching flames of light that streamed behind. The black car skidded to a halt creating a shroud of dry dust that draped over the war machine's position. Anya could barely make out the familiar shape of the interceptor, but this machine was a far cry from the fabled machine with a thousand lives. Chrome exhaust pipes spewed the holy blue fires in a welcoming manner that seemed to bring comfort to Anya. She slowly moved towards the mysterious war chariot that had saved her soul from damnation. But just as she was about to put a hand the door handle, the demoness had returned to inflict her wrathful vengeance. A dark claw reached forth and gripped the bumper of the shining black war machine.

Anya ran to the safety of the garage as it opened to reveal a door of light, a haven in the darkness that is her father's sanctum. As the door closed behind her, she caught a glimpse of the battle that raged between the malefic monster and glorious light bringing machine. Before the door could close and usher Anya back to the safety of the waking world, the demoness stretched a free claw under the gate a wrapped around Anya's leg. She screamed as she was dragged backwards towards the raging battle for her heart and soul. A familiar spiked black gloved hand reached forward from the light towards Anya. She reached for the safety of her father's embrace and grabbed on with all her strength. She smiled with hope as her father's image appeared before her and yanked her free of the demoness' grip. Another specter appeared from the light as well to aid her, an entire group in fact. Her brother, Daniel, and even dinki-di leapt into the intense action.

More dark claws began to pry open the door to the light with all due haste as the being of darkness would not be denied in its bid for godly power that resided within Anya's very soul. Max's image threw Anya into the light as it and the other specters charged towards the demoness for an all-out brawl to the death. Anya felt everything slow as she flew backwards into the light of the waking world. She watched as bolts of energy were fired from the barrels of Max's guns at the demoness. Daniel summoned a powerful glyph that propelled Bruz forward to bash the creature with a heavy wrench. The emissary of darkness shot its various tentacles of darkness at the heroic figures of light with burning rage in its eye. The monstrous being was now overcome with the essence pure madness covered itself in an ink black substance as it reached for Anya one last time while battling against Max. Anya felt something well up within her as the hand reached for her. This power surged forth as white tribal markings appeared all over her skin glowing radiantly with power. Steeling herself, Anya let the power pour out of her being, forcing away the demoness that was then grabbed by her protector and dragged back into the battle of light versus darkness. Anya stuck out her tongue and mocked the demoness as she soared to the safety of consciousness. The amber eye showed once more, filled with burning hatred and contempt for losing this battle.

-ANYA'S ROOM-

The little faunus girl began breathing rapidly as she woke up from her nightmare, gasping for air like she had been drowning. She looked around her room to see everything as clean and pristine like normal. She saw some of her various toys stacked upon the toybox, her large teddy bear sat next to her bed on the floor, and her little desk for drawing was just the way she'd left it. She got out of her bed with tears in her eyes and began to cry. At that moment Glynda walked through the door and spotted her step daughter in misery. She sped over to the girl's side and hugged her.

"I had the worst dream, there were monsters and grim-" Anya sobbed in Glynda's arms.

"It's okay Anya, I'm here. Mommy's here, now shush." Glynda said to her soon to be daughter.

"It was so scary. Everyone was gone! Home was ruined!" Anya continued to cry but she was starting to calm down slightly.

"Don't worry it's okay, that bad dream can't hurt you anymore, just hush now." The good witch of beacon tended to the frightened child caringly.

"W-where's daddy?" Anya asked with her tears drying.

"Your father… had to go to work." Glynda replied after a brief pause.

-FORESTS OUSTIDE VALE-

Far from Vale in the middle of the woods, two men experienced in all out combat were currently duking out with one another. A certain orange themed mercenary was currently trying yet again to kill his newly christened nemesis, the road warrior. Felix had gone off on his own to kill Max out of frustration and to provide a well-timed distraction for other members of Salem's group to go cause trouble undisturbed. Salem did not try to stop him because of that and so he would have his chance at a rematch without reprisal. Max had been lured out by Felix when Qrow received some info from a contact of his and passed along the false intel on a lead about Salem's crew. Ozpin in all his wisdom had decided to send Max out to investigate the lead along with the usual warning of a possible trap. Max had driven out to the specified location in the forest only to be ambushed by an all too eager Felix.

"We've got to stop meeting like this pal. Otherwise people will start to talk." A certain orange striped mercenary said coolly to his leather clad opponent as they traded shots. Aside from the gunfire and explosions from the two clashing fighters, the forest was presently empty. All of the local wildlife that we're not bothered by Grimm had been scared off by the fighting. A grenade landed in the waters of a nearby stream and caused water to spray everywhere. Things intensified between Max and Felix as the battle dragged on.

"You talk too much." Max growled as he shot a fire dust shell at the mercenary with a mouth.

Felix dove behind a group of trees to avoid the blast. "Well I feel that's just one of my best qualities, my amazing people skills!"

"Do you ever shut your mouth?!" Max shouted angrily as he reloaded.

"That's what my last girlfriend said, besides I still owe you payback for stabbing me in the fucking arm!" Felix shouted at the top of his lungs as he rushed Max and the two went hand-to-hand. Max avoided a stab from Felix's knife and countered with a shiv of his own. The loud-mouthed mercenary backstepped and kicked upward. Max back stepped this time and fired a burst with his rifle. The mercenary rapidly pushed the gun aside and went in for a stab with another knife. The road warrior grabbed his arm and twisted it in an attempt to disable and possibly kill the mercenary. Felix gritted his teeth in agony as Max quickly snapped the limb with a loud POP. "FUUUUCK!" The mercenary shouted as he dropped to the floor. Max was just about to blast him in the face when Felix brought out his light shield to block the shot. In a swift display of dexterity, Felix cut the shield and drew his sidearm, forcing Max to seek cover.

The mercenary used his chance to get behind cover and attempted to relocate his arm back into the right place. With a great amount of pain and sheer will to live, Felix put his arm back, and began the process reloading his pistol. After that was done, the mercenary swapped to his DMR and started firing at Max's last position. The road warrior barely managed to duck his head back behind cover as a round whizzed by, grazing the tree. Max returned fire with his assault rifle, suppressing Felix as he made his way towards the mercenary. Felix swapped to new cover beside a large boulder and fired at a wide-open Max. A round grazed the road warrior's shoulder as he dove behind a fallen log for cover.

"Felix, it's done. Come back, now. You can play with your rival later." Cinder's voice said over the radio.

"Fuck you Cindy, I have a score to settle with this prick!"

"It's about the long-term Felix, or have you forgotten how to really hurt someone? I've completed one of today's objectives, so your distraction is no longer required. Continuing your little grudge match at this point achieves nothing for our overall goal. Do not defy me like that me again. Need I remind you what I'm capable of, as well as who we serve?" Cinder said in her chilling tone as she shushed the mercenary with a very real threat of force.

"Fine… I'll finish up here and go back." Felix replied through gritted teeth.

"Good, don't keep me waiting, or else." Cinder made another threat to force his compliance.

"That's my line little miss spitfire." The orange striped mercenary sassed the fiery witch and received no answer as the line went dead. Felix then turned back to Max threw a frag grenade that caused the road warrior to run to a better position. "We'll finish this later, you can count on that!" The mercenary shouted as he ran for a bike he'd stashed nearby and fled deeper into the forest where Max's car couldn't follow. The road warrior growled furiously as the mercenary had escaped from him again. Knowing all too well that this had only been a skirmish, the road warrior began silently wondering to himself why that same mercenary who'd appeared in atlas would go to this kind of trouble. As he walked back to the interceptor with that on his mind, a certain group of teenage girls were busy conducting their own little investigation, and Salem was crediting a dream demon for his assistance, despite his failure and subsequent death.

-END CHAPTER-


	8. Truthful Pursuits

Mad Max: Road to Salvation: Volume 2

Episode 8[39]: Truthful Pursuits

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[Wombag1786: Mmmhm, but others feel they've suffered enough for now so Glynda will not be punishing them further.]

[Guest 1: I was planning on having her powers show a little bit later on. I know who you mean (DP) but I'm not too sure about him being in this story or how he'd even get there at all. Max will get some love this chapter.]

[Lordofuselessness: Yeah that was a pretty bad dream.]

[Ice: you'll find out.]

[Charles: Well I wanted to do something on the more mystical side of things and dreams are called a window, or in that case a door, to the soul. She really does see her adoptive father and family that way.]

[CAD D CHATTERBOX: That's a pretty good description man. I felt the angel needed to make her presence known and what better way than battling a demon, it's straight up biblical. That's a creative way of killing that crazy merc for sure. Thanks man.]

[Guest 2: They might.]

[Disabled-doctor: Glad to hear the tale is entertaining dude.]

* * *

-VALE FORESTS-

Max was racing along the back roads trying to catch up with Felix after the merc had been dumb or ballsy enough to try using the roads to escape the road warrior's pursuit. Max was close to flooring the pedal to keep up with Felix's off-road military bike. He hauled out his trusty double barrel shotgun and sent a blast in the merc's direction. Felix weaved to the side of the road taking a jump to avoid the shotgun blast of fire dust. The merc with a mouth briefly soared through air and gave Max a middle finger while he freestyled. Felix's motorcycle returned to the ground and he was back to trying to outrun the vehicle that was specifically most kinds of pursuit. The two of them left large dust trails in wake while tearing up the forest roads. Felix braked and attempted to lob a grenade into the interceptor through the passenger window but the explosive was caught and tossed out the other side by Max. The explosion knocked over a dying tree and began to cause a chain reaction along the road with tree toppling over each other like dominoes. A tree was now falling onto the road ahead and Felix grinned behind his visor as he planned to use this to lose the road warrior.

Taking another epic jump, Felix performed another set of freestyle moves as he soared over the falling tree. He made several gestures mocking the road warrior before touching down. Max wouldn't let his opponent escape so easily and engaged the nitrous, causing the vehicle to rapidly accelerate to top speed and barely make the clearance under three. Felix cursed as he saw his pursuer avoid being crushed under the massive log and catch up. The experienced mercenary clenched his hands to the grips in anger as he barely held onto the road while trying to lose a very determined Max. A bridge appeared in the distance and the mercenary could see all kinds of age and weakness thought the old piece of archaic architecture. He smiled to himself as he whipped out his sticky detonator and fired the weapon at the weakest visible point on the bridge. The mercenary revved the motorcycle and yet again flipped off his pursuer in the black car.

Max saw the blinking light from the explosive and time seemed to slow to a crawl as the man's instincts came into play. He had two choices, floor the pedal and attempt to catch up to the fleeing mercenary before the bomb detonates or slam the brakes and let him get away. Both choices had their faults, one ran the extreme risks of failure and plunging into a deep gorge, not to mention possibly blowing up, the other let the mercenary escape into the safety of the woods and back to his employer. Gritting his teeth, the road warrior gunned the motor and kept the pedal floored. Felix was nearly halfway across the bridge with Max right behind him and closing in. He knew it was either now or never and hit the detonator switch on his weapon. Max barely passed the bomb as he was crossing the bridge himself when it caused the rotting planks to splinter into many small pieces.

The old structure's integrity finally gave out and started to rapidly collapse behind him. Max looked in the rearview mirror to see the bridge disappearing behind him with each passing second and kicked on the nitrous again. Another large burst of power shot the interceptor forward over the end of the bridge and onto safe ground. Felix growled in sheer rage at the insane fact that his chaser was just so damned lucky. He knew he had to finally ditch this guy or he'd regret it sooner rather than later. For once he actually missed his old partners, they would've bailed him out by now. It infuriated him how he needed them to survive these types of situations, and now he had no one to save him. At least that was what ran through his head before an Ursa major appeared in the road and he barely zoomed past it. The Road warrior hit the brakes hard and spun out, 'bear-ly' missing the large beast of darkness. The mercenary looked in his bike's rearview mirror and regained his sly grin as he caught a glimpse of what happened behind him. 'Suck on that bat-dick!' He thought to himself joyfully as he zoomed away down the forest road, leaving Max to deal with an angry Grimm.

The large grim roared at the black car in rage before bearing down on it with all the might it possessed. Max turned the wheel hard and burned out in the opposite direction of the monster's strike. He angrily pounded his fist onto the dashboard in frustration at the mysterious mercenary's escape into the wilderness. With his target long gone, Max decided to head back to the academy and check in with Oz and the others. There was the slight problem of the bridge being out but it was not something to worry about. All he would have to do is drive along the edge of the gorge until he found another crossing further away.

-BEACON-

Glynda had finally managed to calm the poor girl and dropped her off with Amy to play with Daniel. Her high heels clicked along the tile floor of the hallway as she made her way to see Ozpin and inform him of the nightmare Anya had suffered. She had told Glynda everything she saw and it certainly was a god thing she her in the care of the trained medical professional and fellow mother figure who would no doubt be able to help her. From how it sounded to her, Salem had to have been behind it. Even the sanctity of a child's dream was not safe from the dark being's influence apparently. It infuriated Glynda just how far Salem would go to get what she wanted. The head disciplinarian shook her angry thoughts away, eventually reached the elevator and ascended to her superior's office to speak with him. With a ping to signify the elevator's position, the doors opened up and Glynda stepped out of it.

"Ah Glynda, what do you need?" Ozpin asked his loyal subordinate as he looked up from his desk.

"Ozpin, Salem invaded Anya's dreams." Glynda growled, anger still radiating off of her at the situation.

"…Are you certain?" The wise headmaster took on a look of seriousness.

"She woke up crying Ozpin! She told me everything that happened to her! One thing specifically was some kind of little ink devil!" Glynda balled her fists in rage and clenched her teeth.

"I was afraid of this… *sigh* What Anya experienced was the influence of a dream demon I've come across in the past. Once it was a harmless cartoon named Bendy, but unexplained circumstances turned it into the abomination she saw. Did she vanquish it?" Ozpin closed his eyes for a moment and sighs. He then informed Glynda of the demon's origin and inquired about the monster's fate.

"Why does that matter?!" Glynda incredulously roared at her faithful employer.

"Glynda, please!" Ozpin said forcefully, standing up from his desk and tapping his cane.

"Yes, she thinks she saw it die." The enraged disciplinarian, taking a breath, calmed down at the man's display of force that he rarely ever used before.

"That's a relief then, if she woke up before it's destruction then I have no doubt it would be back, and far stronger than before. As long as she's completely sure she witnessed the creature perish then this was a one-time occurrence. This only proves how strong her own will is as well as the power beside it." Ozpin leaned back in relief.

"How can you be so calm about this?! My soon to be step daughter almost had her soul stolen!" Glynda's anger returned in force at how coolly Ozpin was regarding the reach Salem had displayed with her latest gambit.

"Time and experience Glynda, Bendy was unique and dream demons as powerful, while not unheard of, are still exceptionally rare. Salem will be hard pressed to find another demon of that particular caliber. She's clearly probing our defenses for a weakness and it was lucky that both aspects of Anya's powers have started to awaken, otherwise she might not have been so fortunate." Ozpin tactfully explained the reasoning behind his present attitude.

"You believe it was her powers that saved her?" Glynda asked, lowering her voice but still maintaining a look of anger.

"As I said, the demon she battled was unique and many other souls have been devoured by it in the past. So yes, the evidence points to her powers being what saved her life. But can you tell me what exactly she did to fend it off?" Ozpin sat back down and interlocked his fingers.

"She said that besides sending out some kind of force projection, Max, Daniel and Bruz, even the dog, appeared in her dream to fight it. Or at least heir mirror images anyway. Even now while he is away, Max is always watching over her." Glynda finally started to truly calm down at the good news and at just how well a job Max does at being a parent even when not present.

"It would certainly seem so." Ozpin said coolly with a small grin on his face.

-TEAM RWBY'S DORM: HOURS LATER (HIGH NOON)-

"So, uh anybody got ideas on what to do now?" Ruby asked her teammates as she scratched her head.

"You may be our leader Ruby, but when it comes to miss Futaba and Weiss's other relative, this is ultimately her decision." Blake said in her usual calm tone.

"Do you actually want our help though, Weiss?" Ruby asked her partner sincerely.

"Ahem yes, it is, and… thank you Ruby for your offer to help me with this." Weiss cleared her throat and showed her gratitude to her partner.

"You really mean that Weiss?" The tiny reaper said with a sparkle in her eyes.

"Of course, you dolt! …Just don't let that go to your head." The ice queen snapped and quickly regained her composure, remembering her lesson from professor port.

"Ah, there's the ice queen we know and love." Yang teased the already annoyed heiress.

"Don't call me that!" Weiss shouted at the blonde brawler who only stuck her tongue out comically. Weiss twitched angrily with imaginary steam coming from her ears.

"Moving on, what do you want to do Weiss? This is about your family, and well kind of ours too, but mostly you. We can't clear this up with our Uncle Qrow until we see him again." Ruby tried to defuse the situation by changing the topic back to their original discussion.

"I bet 20 lien he was probably in a stupor when he did that." Yang said shaking her head at how the uncle she and Ruby held very dear could be when he actually managed to drink too much.

"First, we shall go visit miss Futaba and inform her of the Doctor's findings. That is the most logical option." Weiss said with an air of confidence in her decision.

"Wait a minute though, I remember the doc said not to tell her." Yang threw a wrench into that choice.

"Excuse me but who are you or her to tell me how to handle this? Besides as you have forgotten, our fearless leader said we'd tell her yesterday!" Weiss now getting hot tempered gestured to the cheery girl in red.

"I have a say in this because for one, I'm your teammate, and two Ruby and I are also the little guy's aunts." Yang matter-of-factly pointed at herself, then at Ruby, and lastly at the little boy who was currently outside playing with the war hound.

"Be that as it may I'm also Daniel's aunt and Miss Futaba's cousin!" Weiss retorted feeling she'd gained the upper hand in the argument.

"Ok now that doesn't make any sense! How can you be his aunt if his mother is your cousin?!" Yang asked incredulously.

"It does, I have done the research on that topic and my findings agree! That's how you can define the relationship I have with him!"

"Enough, both of you! I'm starting to see why Professor Ozpin made Ruby the leader." Blake shouted forcefully, breaking the usual calm demeanor she presented.

"Maybe we should go see mister Rock! He'll know what to do! I mean he does know her best besides miss Mari and let's face it we'd be prying into a staff member's personal life, it just feels sort of wrong. She might be Weiss's cousin but we need help with this. He'll listen to us! Then after that we go see miss Amy and tell her the truth." Ruby came up with another route to go for this. Since it was a staff matter having Max's assistance or blessing to look into this would be quite beneficial to their quest.

"I thought we agreed that this is up to me!" Weiss reminded her team.

"Now it's a group decision about how we help you, ice queen!" Yang crossed her arms.

"Ugh… *sigh* Tch fine. Take the lead back Ruby." Knowing she would get nowhere arguing, the heiress let the matter settle.

"Then let's go talk with mister rock!" Ruby said as a familiar engine's rumble droned outside.

"Well that's convenient and nice pun sis." Yang grinned to her little sister and nudged her shoulder.

"To the garage!" Ruby said confidently with a heroic pose.

-WITH MAX-

The road warrior had eventually returned and parked his car in the garage as usual, but he found himself in front of Glynda who then informed him of Anya's near-death experience. Max ground his teeth in sheer rage at the thought of how close he was to losing the girl he vowed to protect. Salem would feel his retribution the next time he came face to face with one of her minions. His fists were clenched in fury and he punched a wall leaving visible cracks in it surprisingly without harming himself. Glynda more than understood the man's anger at the situation but calmed him down with the belief that the creature that made it possible was most likely deceased, though she did not specify how for her own reasons. Max didn't like it one bit, he remembered how he thought he killed Scrotus only to see him still alive and out to put his head on a pike. That said, he knew from his experience in the wasteland that he had to play the hand he was dealt. If the demon was still around then he'd find a way to deal with it when the time came, as there was no use in worrying himself with something currently beyond his control. With a sigh of weariness, the wasteland veteran sat down on a crate of parts and took a swig from his canteen. Time and experience had taught him many things throughout the painful experience he knew to be his life and the harsh lessons would never be forgotten. Though he had to admit to himself that he was going soft with his return to a civilized life with a growing family and friends. Max pulled out the photo of the three baby girls he had sired with Raven. Glynda sat down beside her fiancé on a stool and leaned on his shoulder. At that moment a certain group of girls busted into the room with Yang bombastically kicking in the door to Max's sanctuary.

"Hiya mister rock! We got a few things to ask you!" The blonde brawler bellowed happily.

"Yang did you really have to kick in the door?! Bruz must be rubbing off on you now."

"Finally, something we agree on." Weiss said dryly.

"Careful sis that sounded like an innuendo. For all you know he probably is when we go on our dates. Butt out ice queen." The blonde brawler purred proudly at her progress with the school's proclaimed top dog and then asserted herself to Weiss.

"EWW, N-not what I was getting at Yang!" Ruby blushed at that statement from her elder sister who casually smirked.

"Come on it's just a door. Besides I didn't break it." Yang shrugged.

"-A door to the most brutal teacher's garage." Blake deadpanned.

"This had better be good girls, or else." Glynda hissed at the four bickering teammates who froze at her tone of voice while Max remained deep in thought.

"M-Missus Goodwitch we just came here to ask your husband mister Rock for some help with a little 'project' of ours. Yeah that's it, a project!" Ruby said shakily to the irritated woman.

"My husband and I are busy, so I suggest the four of you leave, now." The wife of Max narrowed her eyes at them, clearly in no mood for their antics since they'd ruined a perfectly romantic moment with her husband.

"I guess we came here at a bad time then, didn't we?" Ruby sweated nervously under the glare of the headmistress who seemed to be even scarier than usual, just like her husband. Glynda's glare only got worse as all four girls felt the heat from the killing intent radiating from her. It was just like the fury from when she'd punished her husband for getting it on with Yang's mother Raven. The four of them slowly backed away towards the door in fear of Glynda's wrath.

"We'll be leaving then, talktoyoulatermisterrock,bye!" Ruby jittered as the four girls left the room and the door slammed shut behind them. The whole time though Max hadn't moved an inch or said a word still in his train of thought. Glynda returned to her relaxed position next to Max and actually managed to rouse him from his thoughts. He put away the picture in its place and faced his fiancee. She looked into his eyes and kissed him passionately at the first opportunity. The wedding was just around the corner now and both of them were feeling quite frisky. Glynda was starting to let even her measurable self-control slip a bit more now the atmosphere had been restored. She beckoned for Max to grab her breast and she moaned with a mad blush on her face as he did so. The two of them stopped before going any further though since it just wasn't time yet for the next step. After a few minutes of silence, Max had decided he would go comfort Anya and watch while she would play with Daniel. Glynda decided she would go with him and help him do so.

-BACK WITH THE GIRLS-

"So then let's go see miss Amy!" Ruby recovered from the fear she had displayed under Glynda's glare and struck another pose.

"Finally! It's time we did what we set out to do in the first place!" Weiss huffed impatiently.

"I concur." Blake said calmly.

"Time to spread the truth ladies!" Yang put her hands on her hips proudly. The girls then set out to find the kind-hearted nurse and finally make progress on getting close to the bottom of this mystery. As the team of intrepid youths made their way to the infirmary to speak with the nurse. Weiss steeled herself for what would be an interesting conversation, hopefully doctor grey would be there to back the facts. They reached the infirmary and found the jovial nurse busying herself with work while strange mechanical sounds of various scientific tools came from the good doctor's lab. No doubt she was in the middle of an experiment as usual. The noise from the room stopped and doctor Grey emerged from the lab bearing a frustrated look on her face. She saw the four girls and immediately pinched the bridge of her nose as this was the last thing she needed today, drama.

"Well hello girls what brings you here today?" The motherly nurse looked at the girls and warmly greeted them with a smile.

"Miss Amy, Weiss here has something to tell you." Ruby gestured to the Schnee heiress who stepped forward.

"What I'm about to tell you is going to be hard to swallow, but it's the truth." Weiss said seriously.

"Ok, tell me what you have to say." The nurse sat down in her chair and crossed her legs.

"You're my cousin." Weiss dropped the truth bomb and Amy's eyes widened in surprise.

-END CHAPTER-


	9. The Bolt Turns

Mad Max: Road to Salvation: Volume 2

Episode 9[40]: The bolt turns

A/N: Sorry that this one is all filler talk and might suck, writer's block is hitting me again.

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[Guest 1: Yep.]

[Wombag1786: You could say that. Ah huh, for now the people have spoken and CRDL have paid enough.]

[dirtrevor: Mmmhm.]

[Dinosaurchicken: Hope this chapter is a good enough follow up.]

[Guest 2:You'll see, I hope you like it. I'm not sure about that. Thanks on the bendy thing and Salem will pay when the time comes. Close attention will be kept on those racist jerks. Thanks dude.]

[Review dude: Thank you so much, I hope you like this chapter as I tried to do my best.]

[Charles: She wants the D.]

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To say that the nurse was stunned remained a very clear understatement. It certainly was the last thing she would ever expect to hear from anyone. Her mind was going a mile minute with all kinds of questions relating to this. Of all people she had to be related to, it just had the Schnees. Looking back on her life, some things about her family started to make an odd deal of sense.

"I understand if this comes as a shock to you." Weiss said as she looked her cousin in the eye.

"Th-That's a very gross understatement Weiss. Emily am I really-?" The nurse replied, shaken from the revelation. She looked to her colleague for one last confirmation to be sure.

"She's telling the truth Amy, I took a look at the DNA samples Weiss provided as well as some from Daniel. If you want, I could run another test comparing hers to yours." The good doctor spoke firmly in her delivery of said confirmation and offered to run another test.

"*sigh*No, that's alright Emily. It certainly explains a few things about my own family. All this time and I'd never known." Amy thanked her friend and accepted the facts of her heritage.

"I would like to ask though, which of your parents do you think is my aunt or uncle? I have to know." Weiss asked her cousin inquisitively.

"My mother, she's your aunt." Amy said in a strangely calm tone.

"But how can you be sure though? If so, why here, why Vale? How did she get here from Atlas?" The heiress rapidly fired off questions.

"…I don't know, but it appears you and I have a lot of catching up to do with her Weiss." The nurse calmly replied after she put a hand to her chin in thought.

"I agree. But before we do, it's good to know I'm not alone here anymore. It'll be interesting when you get a chance to meet Winter." Weiss said coolly with a slight smile of joy grazing her face.

"It's okay Weiss, we'll figure this out together. I'm sure it will be quite interesting indeed to meet your sister… or should I say, my older cousin?" Amy stood up and put her hand on the younger girl's shoulder, smiling at warmly as she mused about meeting the stern older sister of the pair. The younger Schnee seemed to already see another sister in the woman standing in front of her.

"Do you guys need a minute?" Ruby spoke up awkwardly as she and the other two members of the team shuffled their feet.

"N-No we're fine." Weiss said with a hint of annoyance at Ruby's disturbance of the tender moment. Weiss then turned her attention back to her cousin. "I think you and my sister older Winter are almost the same age."

"There's a feeling I have that she and I are polar opposites in certain aspects from what I've heard about her from my friend Max." Amy reminisced about her friendship with the brutal man in attempt at humor.

"Mister Rockatansky is your friend? I know you're obviously colleagues but-" The heiress said incredulously but was quickly shushed by the nurse.

"Yes Weiss, I've known him for some time now, it's a very long and entertaining story my dear cousin. But we have more pressing matters to attend to." Amy retorted in a factual tone but quickly steered the discussion back toward the root of its origin.

"Quite right, let us get to the end of this mystery." Weiss said confidently.

-OZPIN'S TOWER: THE NEXT DAY-

The wise headmaster was taking a brief moment away from his work to look out over the school. Things had certainly become interesting as of recent years with the arrival of Max and the group he'd brought with him. for a normal man, this would have been an unbearably massive burden, for Ozpin not so much, as it had been his duty for a very long time as an immortal. The long game of war between himself and Salem now seemed to be coming ever so closer to its next major event in this near eternal conflict between light and darkness. As the man gazed into the distance of the ocean beyond the school, a small murmur of indistinguishable voices echoed throughout the office. "It has been quite some time since we last met in person, Griffa."

"Of course, it has. Time and the universe always seem to place their burdens on our shoulders, do they not?" The wasteland shaman said with a swagger in his step as he approached the wise headmaster.

"Agreed. One could even say that in our positions we bear the greatest of responsibilities to our worlds in our positions." Ozpin replied with a tired smile as he faced the mysterious shaman.

"In that regard I have no doubts, our tasks as guardians have been both an honor and a privilege. But for now, my world no longer requires my continued presence, so I lacked any further purpose until I came here to assist you in what few ways I could." The outback shaman proudly agreed and once again stated his reason for arriving in this world.

"Max has been very helpful and I've been doing what I can to repay him for his efforts." The wise headmaster said as he took a sip from his mug on the desk.

"The warrior I brought along with me to finish this conflict has truly proven himself a boon to your cause, I'm sure. But that is not why I came here, this war of yours has raged for so long and yet that witch's darkness still festers like a cancer, hellbent on choking the life out of this world." Griffa's usual calm and mysterious tone turned dark as he discussed the grim nature of his reason for visiting the wizard.

"*sigh*Ah yes, dealing with Salem. To die constantly and be reincarnated again and again as part of a seemingly unending cycle of repetition. A daunting task bestowed upon me, now I'm no longer sure whether or not it is a gift or a curse. It can wear down any soul with time as I'm sure you know." Ozpin sighed in lamentation of his longevity for the duty he carried.

"Ah yes, the constant struggling between order and chaos, light clashing with darkness. Though I have seen rare cases of the roles reversed in my travels throughout the expanse of what exists. But that is a tale for another time. I know of your many deaths throughout the length of time this world has turned since its very creation. Your lamenting is a feeling I understand all too well Ozpin, but we must carry on for it is the path we have either chosen or been set on by fate." The shaman showed his sympathy but pressed forward through the melancholia.

"True enough Griffa. The endgame will come one way or another and when that day comes… I hope I am prepared." Ozpin collected himself and returned to a lighter tone of voice.

"We shall see old friend, that is the only thing either of us can do at this point. Her hunt for the child though, this was a sign of something worse on the horizon. We are both aware that she will not relent in her goal to destroy this world and using that child as a means of doing so is something we cannot allow. In the wrong hands the power the child wields could be used to bring damnation upon every soul in this world." Griff gave a wry smile before discussing the impending danger of Anya's gifts being stolen and the ramifications it would bring.

"Anya, her wielding of both the fall maiden powers and that angel's divine energy makes her a truly unfortunate victim in this war. I would never have wished this fate upon her if it were at all possible." Ozpin shook his head in pity for the child who now bore the burdens of being a demi-goddess.

"The universe is always wiling to provide more problems than solutions as befitting the twisted sense of humor fate itself possesses. In time if she continues to grow stronger and her protectors continue to nurture her as they have she would no doubt be worthy of becoming a true deity. Although there is one equally as pure, another young soul residing within your school. She bears a hooded cape red as blood." The wasteland mystic offered his own wisdom and thought of someone else with a pure heart.

"If you are referring to miss rose then yes, she bears a heart full of light and a gift that is extremely powerful in its own right, the gift of silver eyes." Ozpin replied attentively.

"…I would never presume this without reason but, should the child perish, I would hope the red rose or perhaps someone else capable of wielding such power is gifted with those responsibilities rather than the false maiden. In her hands the powers of both beings could very well allow her to become a full-fledged demon of untold malevolence and hellfire. She would be under the control of Salem until the day comes when she turns on her mistress or is no longer valuable. I must now take my leave, perhaps we shall have more to discuss later Ozpin, farewell." Griffa paused for a brief moment before considering the worst alternative and other possible candidates for the gifts to be bestowed upon.

"Goodbye Griffa. Hopefully next time our topic of discussion will be more lighthearted." Ozpin waved goodbye to his friend from beyond the realm as he began to disappear in a small cloud of dust.

"I could not agree more." The shaman uttered a final whisper before vanishing completely, leaving behind a plume of dust. After the shaman was gone, Ozpin called for a janitor and returned to his work.

-SALEM'S LAIR-

The feminine being of darkness was somewhat satisfied with the performance of Bendy the ink dream demon. Though he had ultimately failed in the primary goal that was set, the information uncovered during his mission was invaluable. Overall it was not a total failure, though there was still the lasting and overwhelming influence of the man in black. Salem knew enough of him now to understand that he is indeed a major threat to her plans if left unchecked. Felix had been proving adequate in his more recent battles against the road warrior at least. For now, she still had a knight piece of her own on the board to match Ozpin's as long as he continued to serve his purpose. Her bishop Tyrian would be quite well equipped to deal with him if the man called Max continued to prove a nuisance or worse. She was content with the knowledge of where the vessel for the maiden's power is and just powerful her queen piece would become when the child is struck down by her hand. The might of a fallen angel would be just the thing to tip the balance in her favor and accelerate her plans. She would just have to let Cinder destroy the fortress that protects the girl, when Beacon dies, hope will fade with it. As the dark queen mused to herself, Felix entered the chamber.

"I'm back!" The mercenary shouted bombastically, still high from his fight with Max.

"You are, obviously your diversion was successful since you are still alive. I will say that you are definitely proving your worth Felix." Salem acknowledged the mercenary's success.

"I aim to please, so long as we've still got a bargain of course. Thanks for that Ursa by the way, just the ticket I needed to get away from that prick." Felix said in a relaxed tone of voice as he played with one of throwing knives.

"You earned it. Now I have another job for you. I want you to assist Cinder and keep an eye on her for me. I want to make sure her merge with that demon I summoned didn't dull her effectiveness as a weapon." The dark witch issued her net directive for the mercenary she figuratively held by the throat.

"Sure, no problem, you want fries with that? You know how much she hates me and that I can't stand her. I swear to god she does everything she can to spite me, but if that's what you want, fine. You're the boss." Felix back-sassed her slightly for what he had been asked to do but kept a cool attitude, grumbling the last bit hatefully.

"Good, and do not ever make jokes to me again. I do not share your sense of humor, mercenary."

"Riiiiiight, well I'm off to see Cindy then. Besides, at least I get to hang out with someone who gets me, Torchwick." He truly did despise Cinder, but he had to work with if he wanted to live. Though Torchwick and his little sidekick seemed to at least be tolerable enough. He knew it would put him head to head with Max to finally prove who's better. The mercenary made his way a portal Salem conjured and disappeared into the city to meet with Salem's favorites hench-girl. With the mercenary gone, the queen of darkness surveyed her grim domain with her army of beasts outside and ready at her beckoned call. With a small disturbing smile, the malevolent Grimm queen sat upon her throne and waited as Tyrian came to see her next, the most loyal of her minions by far. His blind faith in her power and undying loyalty as well as his vicious and sadistic nature made him the perfect lieutenant. The one-man cult strolled into the room with a demented grin on his face from his latest errand for his queen. Salem looked down upon him with an inquisitive expression as he bowed before her in respect for his deity.

"Tyrian, I trust you have made progress in your mission." Salem asked in her usual tone as she interlocked her fingers.

"Yes, my goddess, I have been narrowing down my search for the children of this road warrior and I am getting closer with every day that passes. When I am successful in locating them, what would you wish me to do?" Tyrian reported his progress to queen of darkness with a psychotic grin and inquired about any further direct orders.

"Bring at least one of them to me, if possible all of them. If you are unable to acquire these children, then you'll know what to do." Salem said as she narrowed her eyes to emphasize the last part of her orders to the psychotic scorpion faunus.

"It shall be done mistress Salem." Tyrian said dutifully as he stood up and was dismissed to continue on with secondary assignment as well as the other things he does for the dark queen.

-END CHAPTER-


	10. Knowledge and Spirited skill

Mad Max: Road to Salvation: Volume 2

Episode 10[41]: Knowledge and Spirited Skill

A/N: Sorry for the delay everybody, I've had to work on my other stories and take a break. If you pay attention and are familiar with Jak 3 or Jak X you'll find a few references here and there.

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[Guest: You are correct and thank you. Sorry if I'm taking it so slow on catching up to the main story. I promise I'll finish this mini arc and move on again.]

[dirtrevor: Thank you and here is where you will, I hope I did a good job with this.]

[Wombag1786: Indeed, and maybe.]

[Review dude: Thank you so much dude, I'm doing the best I can.]

[Charles: pretty much.]

[pittsacee: I would but I can't.]

[CAD D CHATTERBOX: Thank you so much and I'm sorry for the delay.]

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-DOWNTOWN VALE: MISS CRYSTAL'S FLOWER SHOP -

The next day, the girls and Nurse had quickly grabbed Mari before leaving beacon and visiting Vale, leaving Daniel in the good doctor's care. Once they reached the city, the group made their way downtown to a flower shop nestled in plaza with a living space above the shop. The front of the store was beautifully decorated with assorted flowers of many different colors. The one particular group of flora that stood out amongst the colorful plants was a large bouquet of white roses. They were a rare special kind of flower that bloomed in in the harsh snowbound wilderness of Atlas. Strong and beautiful against the cold winters that the far northern kingdom was known for. Weiss had seen these particular flowers before in her mother's garden when she was living at Schnee manor. But for Amy, these flowers had been regular welcoming sight for her when returned home to the shop her family owned. The group of women had stopped outside the store front and Mari looked to Amy.

"Amy, my love, you know I love you and all. But your dad..." The foxy huntress said to silver haired nurse as her ears twitched anxiously.

"What's wrong with her dad?" Ruby inquired with a quizzical look.

"*sigh*It's...complicated." Amy muttered.

"That's one word for it. *sigh* He doesn't like me because I'm a faunus. That and... well...I'm a woman as well." Mari recalled her unpleasant moments when in the presence of Amy's stubborn father.

"At first, he just didn't like you. But I like to think mom, and you taking care of Daniel like he was your own might have swayed his opinion of you." Amy spoke reasonably.

"Then what does he have against faunus?" The cat eared girl in black growled.

"He's… faced off with faunus criminals and the 'white fang' when they became militant on more than one occasion in the past, okay, that's it." The calm hearted nurse explained and crossed her heart.

"That's not an excuse. What's his name?" Blake twitched her ears in displeasure and pressed for more information.

"Erwin Kalt, and before I fell in love with Mari, last name was Kalt."

"Did you say Erwin Kalt, as in 'the' colonel Erwin Kalt of the Atlas 2nd specialist battalion?! You're a member of the Kalt family?!" Weiss shouted hysterically.

"Who are the Kalts?" Yang raised an eyebrow.

"The family who owns and controls KALT-SCHMEIDE MFG! Their company KS has been the SDC's chief rival in metal and ore production in Atlas for decades! Not only do they have wealth that rival's that of my family, they have deep ties to the Atlas military!" Weiss put her hands on her hips as she ranted about the family who gave the SDC a run for their money.

"But your family has a lot of the dust mines, like you told us, right? So, shouldn't you be richer?" Ruby was a bit confused when it came to the amounts of money either family accumulated.

"We own many of the dust mines, but they have the Iron Valley. That region is chock full of their facilities and one of the largest concentrated groups of metal ore deposits in Atlas, both common and precious. They dominate metal production, not to mention Weapons development and manufacturing, you dolt! We Schnees have our own manufacturing plants, but many things we build are made from KS metal! It pains me to say it, but they are our equals." Weiss griped at the thought of the family that stood on equal footing against the Schnees financially and politically.

"KS also uses faunus labor, but they tend to be kinder than the SDC. But because of that, it's difficult to even get a beginner's position for anyone who wants to work for them." Blake provided some of her own background information on KALT-SCHMEIDE and their faunus friendly approach.

"Okay even I didn't know that. So, now I'm the heir to a fortune of my own? All I ever knew was that my father was a soldier." Amy said with wide eyes and then scratched her head in confusion.

"Your parents have a lot to hide, Amy. Makes me wonder why they're here and not in Atlas with all those connections and that status." Mari said insightfully as she crossed her arms over her bust.

"That doesn't matter right now, let's just go inside and get this straightened out." Amy said firmly as she walked through the door with Mari, and the girls followed behind them.

"Mother, father, I'm home!" Amy called out to her parents.

An older man with short grey hair and a beard climbed down the stairs. He wore white military cargo pants, black boot with white toes and a black T-shirt. An eyepatch hung over his right eye and there was a claw-like scar on his right cheek. "Ah how has my little girl been doing? I've missed you so much. What is it that brings you back to our home? …What is she doing here and who are these young girls? The one in white is very familiar if I'm not mistaken." The Man greeted his daughter with a warm hug before pausing and glaring slightly at the rest of the group.

"I'm happy to see you Papa, but don't be rude to my wife and our guests." Amy returned the hug and wagged her finger at the older man.

"Fine, but that doesn't answer my question." The man released her and crossed his arms.

"Colonel Kalt, I am Weiss Schnee and these are my teammates. Our leader Ruby, Blake, and Ruby's sister Yang." Weiss curtsied in front of the grizzled soldier and introduced her friends.

"Schnee, you have a lot of nerve being here." The man growled rudely at Weiss. Just as she was about to snap at him, Amy beat her to it.

"Do not insult my cousin! Who are you to talk about nerve Papa, when you and my mother never told me I am a Schnee!" Amy roared at her parent.

"What?! How did you find out?!" Her father was taken by surprise.

"Why did you hide that from me for all these years and the fact of who else I'm related to?!" Amy continued her campaign against her father, bombarding him with questions.

"Crystal! Our daughter is home and she brought… company." The old soldier called out for his wife. A woman then emerged from the back greenhouse and into the store. She had snow white hair and Blue eyes exactly like Weiss's. Her attire consisted of white overalls, work gloves, boots and a white shirt.

"Amy, it's so good to see you! What have you been doing, and where is my darling grandson?" The nurse mother hugged her tightly.

"I've missed you too mother, Daniel is fine but-" Amy hugged her back and tried to explain but her father cut her off.

"She's come seeking answers about her heritage, Crystal, it's time." Erwin put his hand on his wife's shoulder.

"I… I see. Let's go upstairs and we'll explain everything." Crystal's happy expression disappeared and sorrow took its place. They all ascended to the second floor and sat down in the cozy living room. "WE always hoped to keep this hidden, but I suppose it was only a matter of time. The reason Erwin and I are here in Vale instead of Atlas is because of my despicable brother-in-law and the rest of Erwin's family." Crystal said as she sat down in her chair beside her husband who slouched on a couch opposite the one occupied by the girls and two grown women.

"Never had we intended that life to be for you, as a father it has been my responsibility to protect you. While some members of our family were understanding of the matter, more powerful members had it in mind to use you to control both of Schnee and Kalt fortunes. Your mother though had begun leaving to try to and escape Jacque before he could put her in the same situation as Weiss's mother." The colonel explained in a serious voice locking his fingers together.

"But why did you come here to Vale, why not stay in Atlas?" Weiss inquired.

"If I had stayed, I would've been Jacque's prisoner like my sister Willow who helped me escape. When I met Erwin, he protected me from Jacque's attempts to capture me with his position in the military. But Jacque had his ways of using the system to his advantage. The only solution was to get me as far away from Atlas as possible. Vale being a far more viable option than either Vacuo or Mistral." Amy's mother told the sad story of her escape from the home she knew.

"But just like your discovery of the truth Amy, time was against us. When we had you, that left no choice but to never return lest we risk your abuse by either side. Whoever controlled you, be it my family or your uncle… well it goes without saying. Not to mention all the possible attempts on your life by the white fang, and you had to irritate them by running off with 'her' to the middle of the desert! With my young grandson no less!" The old man spoke calmly at first but his angre rose when he recalled hearing of his daughter's exploits in the wilds of Vacuo.

"H-How did you know about that?" Amy stuttered, her mouth agape.

"I kept tabs on you, and that's all I will say. When I heard about the man who gave your uncle a beating though, well I had to lend him and Ozpin a hand for keeping you safe and striking fear into him. But now that you've grown up and are in the care of Ozpin and this mister Max I've heard about, I know you're safe." The old man smiled warmly.

"Wow those families are messed up." Mari growled in disgust.

"*sigh*It's an understatement, and we we're lucky Erwin's cousin Lieutenant Colonel Elias Rorshach in the Atlas Border Guard also helped us get here." Crystal agreed and reminisced about Erwin's cousin.

"What a coincidence, we know two people named Rorshach who go to beacon right?!" Yang chimed in to brighten the dour mood.

"Titus and Sally, Bruz's teammates." Blake added.

"Those two? It's a small world, it truly is." Amy crossed her arms.

"No doubt Elias sent them there, but for what reason I have no idea. But now you know the truth of your origins daughter of mine." The old man sat up straight and cracked his neck.

-MEANWHILE-

Bruz was busting his ass working on two of his pet projects in the garage, one of them being covered by a mysterious tarp. The other project though, was a rugged yellow assault buggy of some sort. The vehicle had two turbo rocket exhaust tubes and various slabs of yellow armor plating. Dual machine guns were mounted to the upper support bars beside the seats with one gun for each side. The tires were obviously made for rugged desert terrain, although a slick tread-less set was visibly placed next to spare parts for a more compact conversion kit for non-desert combat racing. The metallic skeletal frame held an engine right under the large booster exhaust tubes. Bruz rolled out from under the vehicle on his creeper, with a wrench in hand and his face covered in grease. He was enjoying the solitude for once as his parents were busy with either work or a discussion and Anya had gone to play with Daniel. Yang though hadn't told him where she ran off to though, leaving hm free to do his thing as a mechanic. But he remembered he'd be helping Jaune to practice his skills behind the wheel on the beacon track as a favor to Pyrrha. He supposed it was alright, the leader of JNPR needed a good drive anyway to take the edge off even though he wouldn't admit it. After taking a quick break and changing the tires, the car that the young mechanic had been working on was finally ready to tear up the dirt track behind the academy.

Bruz opened the garage door and drove away to meet up with JNPR at the track, the door closing shortly after he was gone. He ignited the turbo boost and blue flames erupted from the rear of the vehicle, thrusting him forward. He grinned madly as he left a trail of dust and exhaust in his wake. He took a jump or two along the way to get a feel for how the car would handle them. The manic mechanic whooped as he soared across the sky and felt the suspension satisfyingly rock as he touched down. He then skidded onto the dirt racing course and reached the starting line in spectacular fashion. Jaune approached the vehicle and Bruz slid into the passenger seat. The leader of JNPR gripped the steering wheel which was more like a set of two handles.

"How do you like my ride, mate? She's a beauty, isn't she? I got the color from one of my girls." Bruz bragged about the vehicle he'd built with his own two hands and a fistful tools n' grease.

"Got a nice feel to feel it, what'd you build it for?" The leader of JNPR asked the faunus rev-head.

"She's all terrain but a little better suited for the desert. But I made it to train the newbies on this track if that's what you're asking. Anyway, let's quit jawing and get rolling, I want to see what you've got my friend. The clock starts when you cross the line." Bruz explained a bit more about the hot-wheels and gave the spiky blonde in the driver's seat the rundown on the practice race.

"Oh, you're on man!" Jaune said as he pulled the countdown started on the lights. When green struck, Jaune stomped the pedal and engaged the boosters. The vehicle screamed as it raced down the track through the woods. The rest of team JNPR were watching their leader tear up the practice course wand cheering as a screen displayed the time he was taking to race against the clock. Jaune saw a turn coming up and put the buggy into a well-executed power slide. Using the leftover momentum from the sliding turn, Jaune fired the boost again and blazed ahead on a straightaway stretch. The sounds of the engine were being heard from the far side of school grounds and other students began to make their way to the track to see who was causing the commotion.

"Time for a little trial by fire!" Bruz pulled out a small switch from one of his cargo pockets and triggered some drone vehicles to activate.

"What!?" Jaune shouted as he was rounding a corner, then the drones burst out from the trees to chase the buggy. Immediately after that, the drone car began to fire their own guns at the buggy. "Those things have guns?!"

"So, what?! If you haven't noticed, we've got guns and defenses of our own, so use them slaghead!" Bruz barked harshly at the younger boy sitting next to him. Taking the manic mechanic's advice, Jaune saw a panel of weapons at his disposal and flipped on the rear mine drop. The red and white checkered land mine plopped onto the ground and a drone failed to swerve around it. The automated attack vehicle erupted into a ball of fire, scattering parts and bits of burnt metal everywhere. The attack drones continued their relentless pursuit of the buggy down the track with Jaune doing his best to defend against the incoming fire using the defensive weapons. A thought popped into the young leader's head and flipped the vehicle around 180 degrees. He rapidly moved the stick into reverse and started firing the machine guns at the first drone in his sights. When the drone backed off to let its teammates attack Jaune turned around again and braked. With the drones getting ahead and trying to deploy mines, Jaune opened fire again, disabling a drone causing it to flip and blow up. Another drone appeared from behind and tried locking on with heat-seeking missiles. The driver of JNPR engaged the emergency flare and the explosives took off after it, blowing up shortly after. Jaune looked through the onboard arsenal and deployed his own missiles to attack the drone out in front.

"Nice fireworks display, but you've still got more targets to handle." Bruz complimented the driver's skill and pointed to the remaining drones.

"Please tell me we're almost to the finish!" Jaune shouted to his passenger.

"Oi, quit your whining and drive! Keep your bloody focus on the road!" Bruz replied.

"I'm not whining!" Jaune griped.

"Then get to the finish line if you want to shut me up!" Bruz egged on the road raging Jaune.

"A shortcut!" Jaune smiled as a detour came into view that would help him lose the opposition on his tail. He swerved onto the other path and took a jump, activating his boosters just before leaving the ground. The drone right behind him lost control and crashed into a wall right before the jump.

The crowd that was spectating was enjoying the show on the track, especially the first years who were cheering as the clock ticked down while Jaune tore up the track. Second years that had shown up to watch were used to the time trials that Max had instituted, but the combat element was certainly new to them. The rest of Jaune's team were also enjoying the show on the screen in front them that was tracking Jaune's progress throughout the race. Max arrived to observe who was racing on his track after hearing the sounds of battle. He stood back, away from the crowd evaluating the display of combat driving by Jaune. The road warrior could see a fair amount of skill in Jaune's driving performance.

Jaune entered the final straight away with one drone left in the race. He braked and slammed into eh side of the enemy vehicle, knocking it out of the way with a crash. The buggy crossed the finish line arriving to a standing ovation of the student body who witnessed the vehicular carnage. Bruz gave him a well-earned pat on the back.

-END CHAPTER-


	11. Through pain lays peace

Mad Max: Road to Salvation: Volume 2

Episode 11[42]: Through pain lays peace

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[Guest: Thank you so much, I made sure to try my best to with what combat racing material I have available for reference, and yes I will catch up eventually. The reason why I'm taking this at the pace I am is because I don't want to reach the end of the cannon too long before the next season of RWBY. I wouldn't want run out of track to follow and work on after all, I might wreck myself. But I should pick up the pace though as summer is getting shorter.]

[Wombag1786: Thanks, and what is Downtown Abbey anyway? I'll look it up.]

[Clearwingyuta: Tanks. :) ]

[dirtrevor: Now you'll find out.]

[EnriksD8: Well thank you, I made sure to do what I could to make it as good and deep as possible with plenty of octane in the tank.]

[Lordofuselessnes: Yep, it's pretty crazy.]

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-A FEW DAYS LATER-

After learning the truth and saying goodbye to her parents again, Amy returned to the academy with the girls and Mari right behind her. She and Weiss both felt better about it now and were happy to have family in each other. The rest of the girls felt better about the whole ordeal now that it was over and the truth was revealed. In time things went back to being business as usual at the prestigious academy. Cardin and Jaune had fought each other again in Glynda's class and soon enough Cardin had Jaune by the balls with some blackmail. The leader of JNPR knew he could do nothing for now until he figured out a way to deal with his tormentor as brute force wouldn't be an option. He decided not to let anyone else bear the weight of his own burdens, even his team. Cardin's tormenting continued for some time and kept getting worse. His friends were cluing into the situation but there wasn't much they could do at the time.

Max had also noticed the boy's change in behavior and had begun to investigate. This put some pressure on Jaune though since he knew Max would find out somehow. The shrewd former cop could see something was wrong and his investigation was beginning to yield results. At some point Cardin the bully harassed Velvet but was met with 'unspoken' death threats from a very irritated Bruz. The bully was smart enough to know if he touched a single hair on that rabbit faunus in front of the son of Max, he would be roadkill beneath the extremely angry dingo's boots. Torturing Jaune though, that was something he knew he could get away with as long as his victim was kept in check. With that tiny tidbit of knowledge that he'd gained from listening while Pyrrha and Jaune talked was becoming his greatest source of entertainment. Jaune had wanted so badly to apologize to girl he'd grown to feel great affection for and Cardin was the one thing standing in his way, his pride notwithstanding. It had to end and he didn't know it but the perfect opportunity for revenge was coming up. Glynda had organized a trip to the forever fall forest to gather tree sap with Mari and Max handling the rest of her classes for the day.

On the way to the forest Jaune had been sharpening his sword with a rock and thinking angry thoughts about his nemesis. He had to find a way to make things right with his team and make Cardin pay for the damage he'd caused. Another thing was on his mind though, what ruby had said the night before, about him being responsible for his team. With that in mind, it could only fuel his desire for payback against the bully who held his leash. It made Jaune sick to his stomach about how he'd been taking Cardin's shit and doing whatever he said, including gathering very painful Rapier Wasps. A voice in his head kept telling him to strike back, but his budding instincts as a tactician told him to wait.

Eventually after forcing Jaune to do more slavish work for him, Cardin had pushed it too far. Once Jaune had gathered all the sap, out of sight of Missus Goodwitch, Cardin ordered Jaune to throw the sticky substance at his own friends. The young man refused and instead smashed the jar over Cardin's head. The brawny bully's buddies moved in to inflict a beatdown on Jaune. Time slowed to a crawl as his eyes glow a different shade of blue and shadows formed around his eyes. Jaune's lighter personality took a back seat as his anger finally came out in his desire for retribution. The other voice took over and grinned madly, unafraid and in fact eager to fight. Unsheathing his sword, the leader of JNPR countered a strike from dove and levied a mean punch to the cony's lower jaw. Next came a strike from Russel that Jaune/Not Jaune sidestepped and tripped the bully, causing his attack to hit an unprepared Sky head on. An angry Cardin rushed Jaune, only to get a face full of shield. As the fight continued four against one, an Ursa major lumbered out of the forest. It roared hungrily and rushed at Cardin who was caught off guard. The rest Cardin's team ran off away from the beast, while 'Not Jaune' dragged Cardin's butt of the proverbial fire. The cowardly bully leaned back against a tree in a mix of awe and fear as he witnessed a very different person from the poor sap he was tormenting battling the beast that nearly killed him.

Not backing down from the threat posed by the beast in front of him, the leader of JNPR clanged his sword against shield in challenging manner. The Ursa major roared in anger as it charged at the nimble swordsman who rolled out of the way. The beast slammed into several trees and was dazed by the hit from the young fighter's misdirection. Standing his ground in defiance, Jaune thrusted shield forward and block a retaliating strike from the large Grimm. The young fighter dropped down and rolled again, gaining some breathing room. He looked the monster straight into its red eyes and charged for the final blow. Nearby, his comrades had been watching the battle against the creature and Pyrrha noticed a fatal opening in Jaune's attack. Thinking quickly, the spartan girl used her semblance to aid her friend by raising his shield. With the Ursa major's strike parried, Jaune/not Jaune beheaded the beast.

-IN JAUNE'S MIND-

The young Arc was watching in awe as he witnessed his own body fight and win the battle. As he stood there watching like he was sleep walking, a lone figure appeared and pulled his attention away from the action. Jaune then got a full view of the person or entity that had come from behind and his eyes widened in confusion.

"Who the heck are you?! What's going on?!" Jaune frantically shouted as he pointed to the new guy.

"Heh, right now, I've got the wheel, but I'll be glad to give back in a bit." The stranger replied and stepped forward out of the shadows, revealing an extremely pale boy covered in dust. He had blue eyes and various engine diagrams that were akin tribal markings covering his built-up torso. The strange boy's minimal attire was made up of black pants and boots, with a manacle of some kind on his right wrist and a white cloth wrapped around his left wrist. Two large bumps were situated on the left side of his neck with small dots on them resembling faces.

"Ok, but who are you, and why are we even… ya know in my head?" Jaune questioned the stranger and pointed at his head where his brain would be.

"They used to call me Nux. You could call it our head, and why wouldn't you be in here? It's your, or should I say our, corpus." The mystery boy now known as Nux retorted and crossed his arms.

"Great I'm crazy now." Jaune slapped his own face in exasperation.

"No, I'm the crazy one in this team. I'm the whole reason you know cars like you do, and how you drive and fight so well. I've been watching you, learning, and waiting a long time for just the right moment. It was getting boring just sitting in here doing nothing every single day I've been awake." Nux pointed a thumb to himself and threw his arms up in joy.

"Awake? You mean you were asleep in my, or our, head? Oh man this is really weird and confusing." Jaune put a hand to the side of his head.

"Well that ain't point of this meet. What's confusing to me is how you've been treating a certain girl who actually likes us!" Nux put a hand to his chin and smiled before frowning and berating his roommate.

"Huh? Who? You're not talking about Pyrrha are you?" Jaune guessed correctly.

"Oh yes I am! She's just so shine, I could swear on my life it's so familiar, and yet… you've been screwing that up for us!" Nux replied, grinning about how pretty and familiar the girl was to him. He quickly burned his roommate, again.

"I haven't been like that… too much. I've noticed okay, we trusted her that night Cardin put a chain on us!" Jaune huffed weakly in his attempt to defend himself and blushed.

"Close but not enough! She's good for us and you barely understand that!" Nux called him out his mistakes.

"You don't rush this kind of stuff! I'm completely new to really like-liking someone!" Jaune countered.

"Well get used to it, because we like her and she really likes us back!" Nux got in Jaune's face made himself very clear on the matter of the heart.

"I get it!" Jaune threw his arms up in frustration.

"Good, then I'm letting you have the wheel back now." Nux grinned and started to walk away.

"Wait, will this be a regular thing or-?" Jaune asked.

"Can't really say, later." Nux shrugged and faded away into the darkness.

-THE OUTSIDE WORLD-

Jaune, back in control now walked over to Cardin with a serious look on his face. He stood over Cardin with a frown on his face, there a brief silence before Jaune stuck his hand out and helped up his tormentor. He briefly considered punching him in the face, but that would've made him no better than the cowardly bully who'd caused him so much pain and misery in recent times.

"Holy crap… Jaune-" Cardin started to say but was cut off by a very determined Jaune.

"Never mess with me, or any one of my friends, ever again. Got it?" Jaune snarled in a low threatening voice.

"Whatever you say, it's not worth the trouble, or the pain, anymore. I'm done." Cardin put his hands up defensively. The bully had to begrudgingly admit it to himself, as there was no doubt he owed Jaune his life, and the guy had earned his newfound respect.

"Good." Jaune said as he turned around and walked away like a boss. Nearby though, a wise wasteland mystic hidden in the brush grinned to himself as he watched the young man fight. It quite interesting for him as he witnessed the two souls residing within Jaune's body come to terms. It was all going as he had planned so far. Destiny would need just a little more pushing to go in the right direction, and he was certainly enjoying giving quite the nudge. Soon enough he'd speak with the two boys directly when the moment was opportune, but for now he was content to observe his hard work in motion. Without a single word spoken, the mystic disappeared into the wind as usual.

Later that night, Jaune apologized to Pyrrha and she accepted his apology. The young warrior went a bit further with his courage, and quickly checking to see if the were alone, made a slight confession of his affection. Pyrrha blushed and smiled a little bit at Jaune's honesty and cute shyness at that moment. She swiftly kissed him on the cheek and he grinned ear to ear in joy. Today had truly gone from one of his worst days to one of his best in spectacular fashion. As the two of them embraced each other with a hug, they could feel two other presences in the air doing the same thing. The two lost and revived lovers, Nux and Capable, had finally been reunited with each other at last.

The two of them sat down and looked at the night sky with love on their minds. The moment was interrupted by the appearance of a certain mystic who couldn't pass up the opportunity. As Jaune and Pyrrha were enjoying each other's company, a low murmur of voices echoed around them and a very familiar voice in Pyrrha's case spoke them.

"The two lovers from a harsh world of sorrow and dust, separated by the barrier of death, now rejoined in a new life with a bright future." The mystic grinned as he spoke to the two teenagers.

"Oh not again! I hope I'm not dreaming." Jaune groaned as he recalled his encounter with Nux.

"G-griffa, what are you doing here?" Pyrrha stuttered in surprise at the outback mystic's presence.

"I told you it was possible I would see you again young one, did I not?" The shaman of the desert replied coolly.

"Who is this guy Pyrrha, how does he know you?" Jaune asked his girlfriend in confusion.

"We met in a dream, he showed me who I am and told me something about my fate, specifically someone I might meet. I never knew for sure it would be you until now." The red-haired beauty answered her lover's question with a blush and a smile.

"You mean… you… and me… we were meant to be…? This was destiny?"

"Right you are young knight of Arc. You are the reincarnation of the other soul that resides within you, the valiant Warboy called Nux. He was always a tough nut to crack in his previous life, now more than ever before. I suspect both souls within your vessel have agreed to work together, haven't you?" Griffa said as he paced around the couple calmly.

"How did you know that? You weren't spying on me, were you?" Jaune asked incredulously.

"I observed, true enough, but it was not anything disgraceful to watch you and Nux perform as you have. I came to give my congratulations to the both of you for successfully finding each other as you were meant to. Enjoy your happiness together young ones for it is meant to be. So long as you have faith and hope for each other, never shall you be separated again until death." The outback shaman explained himself and his reasoning behind his appearance without a hint of deceit in his voice.

"Thanks… I guess." Jaune said awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head.

"Thank you so much, for everything Griffa. I don't know if we can ever repay you for this." Pyrrha said respectfully to the shaman.

"It is no trouble young one, I was simply helping you two along to find each other and discover who you are and offering subtle guidance when you needed it. Should you ever have serious need of my assistance again, I will offer my aid when your need of it need is greatest if possible. You both have earned your love for one another for through many trials and tribulations throughout your lives, both new and old, may it remain as strong as it is so long as you both live." Griff replied and vanished in a plume of wasteland dust, leaving behind a rune of some sort in his absence. Pyrrha and Jaune looked at each other and then at the sky in peace.

-END CHAPTER-


	12. Cat,Dog, and Monkey business

Mad Max: Road to Salvation: Volume 2

Episode 12[43]: Cat, Dog, and Monkey business

A/N: I hope everyone likes this chapter, I tried my hardest to avoid making this into lazy a tag along fic.

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[Ronmr: Thanks dude]

[Wombag1786: Call it as you see it man, and thanks for info.]

[ditrevor: who can really say man?]

[Dungeon Wyrm: tanks man!]

[ClearwingYuta: Your welcome, and don't worry things will be different.]

[Charles: It's cool man. Yeah, I knew it was the right thing to do, and when it comes to ARKOS, a certain old movie I love about a skellington inspired some things.]

[Lordofuselessness: Than you very much man I aim to please!]

* * *

-SEVERAL DAYS LATER-

At Beacon Glynda was busying herself with preparations for the big day that was almost upon her and her fiancé. The students of beacon were very uncomfortable with her seemingly extremely elated disposition as of late. Though no students voiced that opinion out of the fear that they anger Max who was picking up the slack for the normally fiery head disciplinarian. She had already picked a large chapel in Vale so that both students and colleagues alike could attend the affair of holy matrimony. But there were still moments that Glynda's usual attitude shined through, especially when she would be a bridezilla and fuss over minute details. One moment being related to the search for the dresses she and Anya would wear as well as finding suitable tuxedos for Max and Bruz. Both father and adopted son felt embarrassed when they were dragged along on those errands, but they had to bear it, otherwise they would face a far worse alternative. Today though, Bruz and Max were lucky enough to be patrolling Vale in the interceptor and unavailable for Glynda to either chastise or embarrass them. The interceptor patrolling the streets tended to draw a crowd with its loud roaring engine and legendary driver. The criminal element was certainly wary at that sound as it rumbled loudly through the streets. Bruz remembered how he and Yang were going to have a date today but Max said no. The dingo faunus knew better than to question his foster father's reasoning behind that refusal. So, Yang had gone with her sister and the rest of their team to the docks for the day. Bruz knew they would be in the area about now but it was best to listen to Max. Eventually they parked the interceptor and patrolled the docks on foot.

As the father and son patrolled the Vale docks they came across a shop that had been raided and was under investigation by the police. Max halted the interceptor and blared the siren that had been installed by doctor grey, moving the civilians out of the way and alerting the police to his presence. The road warrior and his protégé approached the investigating officers of the VPD who were on scene.

"A huntsman? You here to 'assist us' in our investigation? This is a VPD matter, just everyday petty crime." The leading investigator tried to dissuade the road warrior but failed miserably.

"Give me the important details on the incident, detective." Max ordered to the detective who started to crack under the veteran cop's gaze.

"I don't see why I have to…" The lead detective attempted to give Max the run around with jurisdiction but he received a dead eye stare that could frighten the worst hardened criminals and experienced officers alike, especially the dirty cops. "But you are a big deal around here, so I'll throw you a bone or two." The leading detective said shakily after breaking under Max's eyes that made his minor bribe worth substantially less. His partner remained silent and smoked a cigarette while having a bead of sweat run down his forehead in anxiety. "We'd like to believe this was petty robbery and leave it at that, but 'some' evidence leads our department to think this was part of the string of robberies that have been occurring throughout the city in recent days. As to who is responsible for it though, is where our leads end." The detective explained coolly, as lying to a very well-known, and feared, huntsman was not worth his career. Throwing off students maybe, but not this particular huntsman who gave off the presence of a hardline veteran police commissioner.

"What do you think boss?" Bruz asked as he stood beside Max who analyzed the crime scene with the view he was allowed by the police. Crossing his arms in thought Max mulled over the suspect list, narrowing it down to a well-known annoyance.

"You already know." The road warrior coolly answered the manic mechanic's question.

"A usual suspect?" Bruz said as put his hands behind his head.

"There's no one else it could be, we've both seen it before, especially in more recent days." Max elaborated on the subject.

"Oooh, figured it was him. But where did the extra bodies needed to pull this off come from? I'm pretty sure his last crew is out of commission." Bruz stretched himself and then scratched his head curiously.

"What are you two talking about? Don't forget I threw you a bone, so give me one." The detective pried for info.

"A criminal on your most wanted list." Max said as he turned away, signaling for Bruz to follow.

"We have several guys on that list so that's not very helpful." The lead detective crossed his arms, clearly frustrated.

"It's as useful as what you gave us, so it's fair enough." Max replied stoically as he and Bruz walked away from the crime scene and back to the interceptor. The detective was frustrated by the answer but decided to get back to work with his partner still sweating until after Max was gone. Nearby, RWBY heard the roar of the engine and a certain buxom blonde was annoyed she missed her boyfriend by a minute.

-5 MINUTES LATER-

"Oi boss, back to what we were discussing, where do you think the extra hands came from? We both know Torchwick doesn't work alone, he's a bloody coward, and we also know that whoever that fire slinger was from that night seems more like the brains. I can bet ya she wasn't a part of it." Bruz said as he leaned back in the seat and looked in the rearview mirror to see the city pass by while the interceptor drove along.

"For now, we keep investigating, they'll make mistakes and pay for them in full. We can proceed with the fact that it's too much dust to steal for smuggling and resale alone." Max said coolly while he focused on the road and the interceptor rounded a corner.

"Right, and therefore not all being cash in old Torchy's wallet or toys in his toybox. But if that's the case, what could the rest of it be for? Like you said, it's a lot, though it couldn't be for ammo. That takes time to make and factories aren't exactly easy to hide. Fuel maybe?" The manic mechanic grinned, putting a hand to his chin and then rattled off possibilities.

"Until we find out, focus on the objective, what they're doing is a grave mistake and the fact that they've revealed themselves once too often like this means they're planning something." Max frowned in deep thought as he drove.

"…Leaving it up to us to figure it out and catch it by the tail before it happens, that makes some odd sense. *sigh* Anyway, riddle me this, if Tweedledick and spitfire are planning something big, what are we going to counter it with? Keep this between us but, I don't think Ozzie is smart enough to see it coming so well like us." Bruz crossed his arms and sighed.

"Direct assault isn't an option. Obviously, their current strategy means we can't deal with them head on, yet. There's also the possible later risk of infiltration…" Max replied.

"Damn, that's the most fun too. If they're going to play dirty, then I guess we'd best get to get to work." Bruz said in mock sorrow and then cracked his knuckles with a mad grin.

"Agreed, we have to be one step ahead." The road warrior said firmly.

"Maybe including going around Ozzie, but that's just an idea of mine that might not hurt. Either way yeah, the alternative…, I don't want to think about it." Bruz shook his head at the thought.

-SEVERAL HOURS LATER-

Bruz and Max had finished their patrol for the day and returned to beacon. The Dingo Faunus had sat on the rooftops of the academy for some time to himself away from everything. The solitude of it all made him fee at ease even in the craziness of recent days. He chuckled to himself at the thought of how he'd gone from losing his old family in Vacuo to having a new one. Then he remembered an old friend of his, a very cheeky monkey faunus who he used to hang out with. While Bruz was deep in thought he couldn't help but notice Blake leaving the school in a big hurry. On gut instinct alone, Bruz drew his bow pistol and shot line to ground, zipping down using a wrench of his. He then ran after Blake making sure to avoid being seen by her. The route she took to get away though didn't make it easy, but soon enough they were in Vale near the ocean. He briefly lost track of her, but it didn't last too long and with time he found her again, this time hanging out with someone the manic mechanic never thought he'd see again.

As Bruz closed in he couldn't help but grin at the sight of a dear old friend from the desert. As Blake talked with the person in question, Bruz himself finally made his presence known. "Oi, banana breath, it's been awhile, hasn't it?!" The dingo faunus shouted bombastically in joy.

"Bonehead, is that you?! I thought someday I'd see my buddy Bruz again, not the big guy who ate him!" Sun the monkey faunus shouted at the sight of his friend. The two ran to bro-hug each other with Bruz comically lifting Sun into the air. "Ok too tight, too tight, big guy! Down boy, down!" The cheeky monkey wheezed at the raw death-grip power of his old bud's manly bear hug.

"Eh, alright, I'll settle for noogies instead!" Bruz said mischievously as he started rubbing his large muscular fist into Sun's hair.

"Aw come on man, quit it!" Sun laughed in camaraderie.

"You two know each other?!" Blake said with her mouth agape at the scene bromance.

"Know him?! He's one of my best friends!" Sun said gleefully as Bruz let him go.

"I might as well say he's like the little brother I never had! You have no idea how rippa it is to see ya again sunny! But something makes me wonder why you're here though Kitty cat, I saw you leave school grounds so spill it." Bruz shook his head at sun before turning his attention to Blake.

"How did you know-?" The cat faunus was surprised at this bit of knowledge coming from someone who she barely knew.

"Hello, fellow faunus 'ere!" Bruz pointed matter-of-factly at himself. "And don't think the boss didn't tell me about what you tried to do either! He told me you were lucky he didn't decide to shoot you as soon as he saw you at school since you were a bloody Fanger. Besides, when you do what I've had to do, you get better at picking up on the little things. So, either talk or regret it, your choice." Bruz pointed his finger at her accusingly as he explained the how and why.

"Fine…" Blake said before she explained today's events, after it was over Bruz nodded in understanding. Blake's story didn't change the fact that he held a slight grudge against the white fang for reason he didn't wish to share. They had a way of doing things he didn't agree with and had seen them at their worst. Blake argued for them being misguided but Bruz had no sympathy towards the faunus who made their choice. Sun had luckily managed to defuse a volatile argument between the dingo and cat who had opposing views on the group. Thanks to Sun's intervention both sides dropped the argument and agreed to work together.

-A SHORT TIME LATER-

Eventually they all headed for the dockyards and took a position above the area filled with SDC cargo that was a prime target for White Fang members. As Bruz and Blake settled down for their stake out, with the dingo staying quiet for once so as to avoid a disagreement with the cat, Sun ran off to take care of something and returned a few minutes later.

"So, did I miss anything?" Sun asked his compatriots as he reached the rooftop.

"Not really, they've offloaded the crates from the boat and now they're just sitting there." Blake replied calmly while she laid down and continued watching.

"Cool, stole you guys some food." Sun said coolly, offering apples to Blake and quiet Bruz.

"Do you always break the law without a second thought?" Blake said rudely to Sun.

"Oh, says the girl who attacked my foster dad." Bruz snorted grouchily in defense of his friend, earning a look of ire from the cat faunus. "Anyway, I'll take one mate." The grumpy dingo casually grabbed an apple from Sun as Blake rolled her eyes. Not even a moment later, a bullhead arrived and touched down between the cargo container stacks. A squad of white fang grunts stepped out first, causing Bruz to grit his teeth. He didn't pay attention to what Blake and Sun said next, as the man who was next off the transport ended up being none other Torchwick himself. Bruz audibly cracked his knuckles and narrowed his eyes in fury at the confirmation of his own suspicions.

"This isn't right the white fang would never work with a human, especially one like that." Blake drew her gambol shroud.

"I didn't think I'd say this tonight, but for once we agree." The Dingo faunus said while he and Blake stepped towards the edge of the roof.

"Guys wait!" Sun tried to stop them but Bruz jumped towards the stacks without a second thought, bounding across the cargo containers. He then leapt high into the air before swinging his wrenches downward at Torchwick with a guttural war cry. The surprised thief barely sidestepped the brutal assault that left a decent sized crater in the ground from impact, only to end up with Blake's blade to his throat. She had used Bruz's distraction to great effect and was now holding Torchwick hostage. "Brothers of the white fang why are you aiding this scum?!"

"Oi, you boys had best listen to the lady otherwise this gets ugly! I know you already can guess who I am right?"

"Oh kids, didn't you get the memo, the white fang and I are going into a joint business venture together."

"Tell me what it is or I'll put an end to this little operation."

"I wouldn't exactly call it a little operation!" He said as a group of bullheads appeared. The thief then looked at Bruz. "Well, well, so we meet again Mutt-face. You know you and your little friends are really becoming a pain in my ass these days, especially your old man."

"I'd say it was nice to see you shit-stick but it's not. In fact, I'd rather break your neck for the racism ya bowler hat wearing prick." Bruz threateningly lifted his wrench to Torchwick's face just as a rifle round struck the tool nearly knocking it out of his hand. Blake reacted quickly, jumping back as a round whizzed past her head. Bruz tried to swing as Torchwick stepped away towards the gunfire before stopping with a confident look on his face.

"I wouldn't go that far little lost puppy dog." Said a snarky voice from above. The owner revealed himself to be none other than the murderous merc with a mouth, Felix. "Do me a favor, why don't you scurry on back to your kennel with the other two before I have to actually make things interesting." The mercenary said dismissively as he lazily approached and jumped to the ground.

"Ah Felix buddy, it's always good to see you." Roman said coolly as he lit a cigar.

"Likewise, Roman. Hey, need a hand spanking stupid these kids?" The mercenary said as he swapped to his DMR.

"They need little lesson in respect, so if you wouldn't mind, of course." Roman grinned.

"Way too happy to oblige. Now who wants treats?" Felix said as he threw grenades at the teens and Torchwick fired his cane.

"Oh, that is it you fucking wankers! RAAAGGH!" Bruz was unaffected thanks to his semblance and in a boiling red rage he charged at the mercenary and thief head on.

Felix dodged every strike from a near rabid Bruz who kept swinging only hitting air. The mercenary then levied a well-timed axe kick to Bruz's gut knocking him back, and tossed a grenade at him. Torchwick followed Felix's lead with another flare shot. "Please, your daddy is way better than you will ever be, so why don't you fuck off and fetch this grenade!" The mercenary shouted as the explosives detonated. When the smoke cleared Bruz was still standing with a mad grin under his bandanna.

"Heh, heh, heh, it's going to take a lot more than a bunch of pathetic firecrackers to kill me, ya stupid bastards!" Bruz laughed morbidly at the top of his lungs. "Didn't you idiots ever hear?! I live for this shit!" Blake and Sun then joined in on the brawl. The trio picked dance partners and countered the diabolical duo's teamwork with their own triple threat attack. Bruz tanked the blasts, shielding Blake as she struck at the opponents with her sword while sun engaged in hand to hand against the loud-mouthed mercenary. A bunch of grunts rushed in to aid their bosses and were getting a beatdown from the three heroic fighters. Sun managed to make an opening against Felix and Bruz took it, sending a heavy swing at the mercenary and knocking the wind out of him. The manic mechanic turned his focus on the thief and swung his wrenches downwards again. Backing down quickly Bruz then headbutted his opponent and made Torchwick's nose bleed from the hit. The thief groaned in pain as he covered his injured face from the agony.

Within seconds the three students had begun to overwhelm him until Felix nearly cut one of them in half with the energy sword. There was absolutely no sign of the fight slowing down as the three huntsmen in training held their own against the experienced criminals. Blake used her shadow clones and hammered away at Torchwick only to have them cut away by the energy sword from Felix. Bruz holstered a wrench and threw a brutal punch at the mercenary's head only to miss and get thrown onto his back. The angry dingo rolled out of the way of a crushing stomp and swung his leg at Felix's balls. The merc with a mouth clutched his crotch in pain and then got kicked in the head by Sun. "You little pricks…" Felix wheezed as he tumbled over to the floor. The two boys bro-fisted before going back to helping Blake.

Roman was getting annoyed by how stubborn the three pests were being and fired a flare at cargo container away above the fighting. The massive steel container plummeted downward and two of the three fighters leapt away while Bruz held it up with his semblance and bare hands. The young mechanic's efforts were causing a huge dent in bottom of the container as gravity did its work. The manic mechanic roared in agony as the weight began overwhelm him and burn out his aura. He dropped to a knee with sweat pouring from his face as he watched Roman point his cane at a downed Sun. As it was about to be the end of the monkey faunus, a familiar girl in red appeared with a friend in tow.

Torchwick fired a shot at Ruby knocking her down and a new girl leapt into the battle. As she hit the ground the container Bruz held was sliced in half with surgical precision. Feeling a huge weight off of his back Bruz knelt down and breathed hard while feeling like death. The new girl then started fighting both Torchwick and a revitalized Felix. Bruz's jaw dropped at the sight of how good she was fighting the two of them with her blades. She even managed to slice a bullhead in half like it was easy. When both crooks had a chance they begrudgingly ran to an empty bullhead to escape. Bruz saw this drew his bow pistol again, latching on with the grapple line only to have it cut by Felix who flipped him off as he and Torchwick escaped. Max would not be happy at all when he got wind of this.

At least the girls settled whatever differences they had when the rest of RWBY showed up. As thanks for his good Samaritan deed, Bruz got a scooby-snack level kiss from his girlfriend who was more than happy to see him helping keep Blake safe. The manic dingo mechanic lolled his tongue in joy and anticipation as Yang whispered naughty things into his one of doggy ears. Only Ruby seemed to notice that the other girl had disappeared.

-END CHAPTER-


	13. Shotgun Wedding

Mad Max: Road to Salvation: Volume 2

Episode 13[44]: Shotgun Wedding

* * *

[Ronmr: Damn straight.]

[CAD D CHATTERBOX: Thanks dude.]

[Dragonbluejay1: Yes, and thanks. You are correct, and their arrival will be very soon.]

[Guest 1: Thanks and I can't really say.]

[Guest 2: I can agree with that.]

[Charles: Thank you man, I'll do my best.]

* * *

-2 DAYS LATER-

Glynda had been furious after the battle at the docks, giving the kids more than a fiery earful for their trouble. Max, while very unhappy with the failure of Bruz to capture Torchwick, was actually lenient to his foster son to an extent, only giving a disapproving glare. The reason for the mercy was because of the valuable intel that the young mechanic had acquired through the encounter with the white fang. But Glynda didn't share that opinion and pressured Ozpin to weigh in on the punishment. With some acknowledgement of their efforts despite the risk, the wise headmaster of Beacon gave them a week of extra classes and detention before they could start their school break. Ruby, and to a far lesser extent Blake, were distraught by the decision. With the matter settled, everyone besides the headmaster left the office and Ozpin received a message from Qrow.

Soon enough after a dress rehearsal, bachelorette party for Glynda, and rehearsal dinner over the course of the previous two days, the time had finally come for Max and Glynda's wedding. The road warrior felt like it was déjà vu for him, having once been in a different time and place, doing the same thing. He stood there at the altar of the church waiting as Glynda walked down the aisle looking radiant as ever with a wonderfully expensive wedding dress. The church was teeming with attendees sitting in the pews, all from the school's faculty and student body, including even Ozpin, teams CFVY and JNPR. The bridesmaids consisted of Amy and doctor Grey, with Mari being the maid of honor. Anya and Daniel fidgeted in their seats from boredom as they watched it all happen. A very well-dressed Yang and the rest of team RWBY, sat next to the two younger children. The girls had been allowed a day of reprieve from their punishment to attend the ceremony. It was only possible since their assigned teachers for the remedial lessons would be in attendance and no substitutes were available. Slice and Krel had also returned from their secret missions Ozpin had given them to see the procession first hand as groomsmen since it was a monumental occasion for their close associate Max.

Outside the cathedral on the shadiest tree branch of a mighty oak tree, sat a silent and lonely black Raven. The bird in question seemed to have an envious presence surrounding it as it observed the marriage of warrior and the good-witch. Yang looked away for a brief moment to see a glimpse of the mysterious bird outside. Ruby nudged her sister and the buxom blonde brawler turned her attention back to the altar where the rings were being presented. The Bird seemed to sigh silently from its perch, perhaps out of regret or something else. When it caught sight of Yang and the brawny faunus boy that she threw a seductive look at, the Raven leaned in slightly to better observe them. From what the bird could see, the beautiful burning blonde had poached a suitable choice of partner at least.

Glynda and Max said their vows, Bruz handed over the rings, and the priest pronounced them husband and wife. The two newlyweds shared a kiss, with Glynda putting in more effort than Max, garnering thunderous applause from the crowd. outside on the street, a certain devious mercenary was watching with twisted anticipation for the right moment to take his revenge. He signaled to his large group of hired faunus thugs and several white fang members to move in. He'd certainly spent his side earnings well on his little wedding present for his nemesis. With a smirk under his visor, the orange striped mercenary climbed to a rooftop and watched the show. The thugs and WF initiates stormed the place, kicking the doors and firing wildly into the church. Within seconds though, the guests had armed themselves and swiftly retaliated.

With a look of fury in her eyes Glynda spoke in a menacing tone to her new husband. "It seems these dregs need to be taught not to interrupt a wedding."

"Agreed. I'll handle the left side, I trust you to handle the far right." Max said stoically as he marched to his chosen area of battle.

"Of course." Glynda replied, using her semblance to toss large assorted furniture pieces at the intruders.

"Amy and I'll join you Glynda, we ladies have to stick together after all. You two boys go with Max or Bruz." Mari grinned as she and her wife followed the angry newlywed into battle.

"I'll be fine right here!" Doctor said as she took cover behind the priest's podium.

"Oh, this'll be some raging fun! I'll head up the middle!" Bruz whipped his submachine gun out from under his suit and cocked the charging handle before barreling through a large group of attackers.

"It looks like some of these guys are white fang, been some time since I had fun kicking their asses!" Krel roared while he transformed his hammer into machinegun mode.

"Indeed, let us join our colleagues in the fray." Slice commented and gracefully drew a katana he'd brought just in case. The group rushed into the battle alongside their fellow huntsmen and huntresses against the rude wedding crashers. Max broke a faunus thug's arm and swiftly uppercut the jaw of another. He let his fury loose and started tearing through the battlefield in a brutal display of ruthless efficiency. Glynda lifted a bunch of enemies into the air and slammed them down while Mari threw herself at them and busted their jaws with graceful kick. Amy had grabbed a discarded rifle and provided covering fire from behind a pew. Bruz used his smg in conjunction with his fists for a painful sequence of combos that lead him to joining Yang. The both of them began tandem fighting almost as if they were in a waltz beautiful punishment with both of their styles complimenting each other. Ruby had luckily brought along crescent rose and was working with Weiss in the chaotic fight to drive away the thugs. Blake ended up joining Sun who had also come to be with his buddy Bruz for the occasion. The two sides clashed against one another as if it were an all-out ground war raging within the large cathedral.

Within the span of minutes after the fight broke out, the VPD received the urgent reports of the large gun battle at the church and were immediately dispatched in force to assist with ending the conflict. Felix grinned at the carnage while sat back in a comfortable lawn chair and listened to some tunes and drank some liquor he'd bought as he enjoyed the carnage below. The whole event seemed to be a good little distraction for him since it wasn't his ass in the line of fire for once. He figured if Cindy had any objections, he'd just either try to make a case to save his ass, or tell her to fuck off. All that seemingly random chaos did cause more negativity in the world after all, so it wouldn't be a waste overall. Besides, he simply pointed a bunch of rogue WF members in the right direction, what they decided to do with the information wasn't his fault. Plus, he enjoyed screwing with that annoying Bull faunus and making him look bad in front of Cinder. Unfortunately for him, his fun was spoiled a bit when the cops had cordoned off the area and set up a perimeter to minimize the damage if the fight left the cathedral. Then again, a cop shootout was always nice to watch in his opinion.

Back inside the church things were starting to slow down as the thugs began to drop like flies against the sheer might of the numerous Huntsmen and Huntresses of Beacon. The last of the thugs tried to rally together and breakout of the church, only to be met with the guns of the elite VPD SWAT pointed at them. The cops began shouting at the thugs to drop their weapons but were ignored and fired upon by the retreating force of hitmen. The cops began advancing using riot shields while thugs fought their way into an alley with both the cops and Beacon members on their tails. Eventually they were surrounded and taken down by the police. With his entertainment over, Felix had no reason to stick around so he quickly took off and fled back to the hideout where Cinder and her cronies had set up shop.

After a few minutes of rest from the chaos of combat, everyone attended the reception at a nearby restaurant. Both Glynda and Max, albeit reluctantly, agreed that finding out the cause of the assault would be best left for a later time. It was quite a delicious buffet of wonderfully good food, all thanks to a large sum of money that had been paid donated as a wedding gift from the wonderful wizard Oz.

As much as Max tried to relax at his wife's request, he couldn't take the assault lying down. He knew Glynda waned to act as well but she wanted to enjoy the celebration slightly more. What made sense to him about it was that it lacked any sense at all. This did not fit the profile for the operations of Salem's minions besides chaos. There was one alternative he considered though, someone who was much more difficult to predict, the mercenary. The road warrior knew personal when it was in front of him, and that was what his opponent had tried to do. Knowing that he could not allow himself to fixate on the problem, the weary wastelander decided to intensify his investigation tomorrow as a means of retaliating.

-SEVERAL HOURS LATER-

After a long night of revelry over the victory at the chapel and the celebration of the marriage between Glynda and Max everyone involved had eventually gone home. As the newly married couple returned to Glynda's own residence for the night, with Mari and Amy promising up and down to keep a careful watch over Anya, the two of them finally decided to be more intimate with each other. Max carried Glynda through the door of her home and she seductively led him to her bedroom. The wastelander felt his more primal urges gnawing at him viciously to final 'take the hill'. The wife of the wasteland warrior removed her dress to reveal a seductive set of lingerie that would make most men drool at the sight. Max could feel his heart thumping within his own chest like that of the interceptor's supercharged v8 with his instincts begging to release the parking brake. He then removed the uncomfortable suit he'd been forced to wear, revealing his heavily scarred and muscular torso. The wife of Max could feel her cheeks burn fiercely at the view of years of successful survival standing before her. Without another moment of hesitation, she laid back on the bed and gestured for Max to approach. The man slowly climbed onto the bed and rested himself on top of her, locking his hands with her own. She wrapped her arm around him and kissed him with a generous amount of tongue.

Outside the room, the same bird from before was now watching the moment of intimacy from a lamppost on the street. That same feeling of envy radiating from it's very being with a hint of wrath being carried on the wind. What could be seen was only a taste of what could've happened if she had forced her will upon him with her full might as granted by the maiden she had dealt with. He could've been hers, all that strength, the feral power, the will to survive, every single one of those valuable traits wasted upon a woman she viewed as inferior, weak. It also filled her with a sense of deep regret at what she had wasted by leaving those three children with her other daughter's father. One of them could've been the perfect successor to lead the Branwen tribe if she hadn't made that choice to give them all up.

[VIEW IS FOCUSED ON BEDROOM DOOR]

It was clear that Glynda was certainly enjoying her time with her new husband as loud cries of joy erupted from the bedroom. She couldn't believe how much stamina her husband had from his experience in the wasteland. For the next hour things intensified with lots of banging and screaming coming mostly from a very satisfied woman who had not to take any methods of birth control in recent months. For Max it had been well worth the wait as he found himself being deeply intimate with a woman he loved for the second time in his life **of his own accord** , Raven didn't count for obvious reasons. Eventually both lovers reached the end of their strength and with one final effort Max finished the session earning one more heavenly yell of happiness from Glynda. The bird flew away after having seen the end of it all, contemplating why it hadn't taken more extreme measures in the past.

The view goes to the inside of the bedroom to see both husband and wife laying together in bed. Glynda had her hand on Max's chest with a satisfied smile on her face and her hair all messy. "That was so nice. I've never had it that good before with anyone I've ever dated in my life." She said while gently caressing the stoic man she'd married.

"I agree." Max replied with a subtle tone of satisfaction from the night they'd just spent in bed together.

"I think I should inform you that I didn't take any birth control…." The good witch said seductively to the man sharing her bed whose eyes widened slightly at the meaning behind her words.

"…is that so?" Max recovered from his moment of surprise and tried to maintain his calm visage.

"Do you have a problem with that, husband of mine?" Glynda looked him in the eyes with her own fiercely vindictive green orbs.

"No, not at all." Max retorted coolly, shaking his head and not taking his eyes away from her own.

"Good, because there will be plenty of things for us to discuss soon enough." Glynda said calmly as finally fell asleep, leaving Max to stew over that bit of information. He then remembered what they'd talked about on the first day of school, the three girls who were currently being cared for by Taiyang Xiaolong. He put a hand to his head in exasperation at what was soon to come in the morning, not to mention the idea of another child he'd be responsible for raising. After letting everything sink in he decided not to dwell on it any further and drifted off to sleep. Times were definitely going to change even more than they already had for the weary saint and those who were close to him.

-END CHAPTER-


	14. Combat Racing

Mad Max: Road to Salvation: Volume 2

Episode 14[45]: Combat Racing

* * *

[Guest 1: I was considering it.]

[Sam hill: I'm not.]

[Wombag1786: Felix will get his soon enough.]

[Dragonbluejay1: Thank you, this is where the death race comes in.]

[Review dude: Heh, yeah. It's cool dude, and thanks I am enjoying it.]

[Charles: Thank you, I did my best to get close enough.]

* * *

-1 WEEK LATER-

After the wedding and working out of some details about the future, Max had gone further into his investigation into the plot of Salem's minions. The new scrutiny had even led to Max uncovering new leads about a former White Fang member hiding in Vale. So far, his lead had brought him to observing a local bookstore, as that's where the suspect was said to be running a legitimate business. Ozpin had decided to force Max to back off to avoid obsessing with it and persuaded him at great difficulty to look into something else. The new objective in question was a gang that had been stirring up trouble in the dockyards and other industrial areas, namely stealing large amounts of freight, including military hardware. The road warrior reluctantly agreed to look into it after a toxic argument with the old wizard whose opinion was only bolstered by the disagreement.

Max had been grumpier than usual with his original investigation being temporarily being given to Krel and Slice. The two of them were reliable, that wasn't the problem. The issue for him was their possible discovery of his own contingencies that he had been setting up lately. If he hadn't hid them well enough the defensive measures he'd been putting place might be reported to Ozpin. He knew the headmaster was already curious about some of his recent projects that he and doctor Gray were working on. Max felt he could trust the good doctor to help build said projects, but if Ozpin discovered them so would the enemy if they successfully infiltrate the academy. All that aside, Max accepted it and drove to the industrial area of Vale to investigate.

-VALE DOCKYARDS/INDUSTRIAL SECTOR: NIGHT-

Max staked out a warehouse he suspected to be run by the crew who were stealing the guns and freight. When he reviewed the manifests of the ships that had dropped off said cargo with the permission of Vale Customs and the port authority, thanks to Ozpin, he discovered a few clues of what was in the containers that were covertly stolen. While it still theft, the nature of the thefts in question was very under the radar, unlike how conspicuous Torchwick and the White Fang were being. The road warrior got out of his car when he saw two suspicious men enter the building and approached the door himself. He swiftly kicked in the door and tossed in a grenade, rushing inside he knocked down two thugs with well-timed shotgun blasts from his standard sawed-off. as another thug rushed Max with rifle and bayonet, Max smacked the gun away and headbutted his attacker before snapping his neck and moving on to a whole group of thugs and ripping into them with his own rifle. After taking down the group with was fired on by a sniper, whom he barely managed to avoid. Rolling out cover Max stood behind a steel support and blindly fired his rifle to send the sniper into cover.

Finally getting an opening, Max rushed to the stairs leading up to the catwalk. He sprinted to the top and took the sharpshooter by surprise, beating him to a pulp and then blowing his head off with the classic double barrel. Seeing the warehouse clear of hostiles, Max found largest pile of explosives and set up a detonator to ignite them and take out the entire stockpile in the ensuing explosion. He swiftly grabbed a duffle bag full of bombs to save for later use, just in case of emergency. With the charges set up, the road warrior ran out of the building and back to the interceptor. He stomped on the gas just as the entire building erupted into a ball of red hot flames and black smoke. Whoever owned that place would definitely be angry for this destruction of all the illegally accumulated weapons and munitions.

-LATER THAT NIGHT-

In an unsuspecting automotive garage, a crime boss's right-hand lady by the name of Raquel Graves had just received word of the loss of his arms stock.

"WHAT!" Raquel screamed at a lowly subordinate who brought her the news. The lady herself wore a biker vest adorned with a tribal skull on the back, tank top with no bra underneath, blue jeans, combat boots, and her jet-black hair in a neat bun on her head and fair amount hanging over her right eye. Her eyes burned with fury at the news she'd been brought. Various tattoos covered her silk-smooth skin, one of the most prominent being a hissing black mamba on her right arm.

"Sorry boss but this guy took out everybody and-!" The survivor who witnessed the massacre shrunk back in fear.

"I heard you, dumbass, it was a rhetorical what!" Raquel roared as she slammed a fist on the desk.

"Having trouble Raquel?" A suave voice sounded off as a man in an olive drab green suit sauntered into the room. His brown eyes and crew cut black hair presented him with a very professional look to accompany his suit. This is the wanted crime boss by the name of Orion Cross.

"Not now, Orion if you haven't noticed I'm busy!" The irritated woman put a hand to her face. Her black manicured fingernails glistened in the amber lamp light of the room, the silver skulls on them screaming pretty and deadly.

"Oh, cool your jets." Orion said as he lit a cigarette.

"We just lost an entire shipment of Atlas tech and guns, so fuck off! Our buyers were counting out that stockpile!" Raquel growled to her compatriot in crime.

"So, we'll just steal more, the VDF have ammo dumps scattered around, so that means plenty of shipments to offset the losses. That is, after we track down and kill whoever was stupid enough to hit us. It'll definitely be fun to go hunting and get that stress out eh?!" The man in the green suit said with a calm calculating tone before finishing with a manically bloodthirsty grin.

"You make a good argument handsome." Raquel leaned back in her seat with a devious grin, placing one leg on top of the other and putting a hand to her chin in a seductive manner.

"I try, after all, nothing makes either of us feel better than satisfying some good old-fashioned bloodlust. That said, you and I both know even Torchwick isn't dumb enough to fuck with us." Orion shrugged coolly.

"Yeah it obviously wasn't him, he was stealing from that SDC freighter and he would be smart enough to lay low. Or at least stay the fuck off of our turf." Raquel agreed.

"Exactly, so get your sister Octavia to handle the legit end of the business for a bit and I'll let Joe worry about sourcing the products from the VDF so we can hunt down that SOB who dug his own grave tonight. I'll call in the rest of the crew to help out." The smooth criminal replied.

"I knew there was a reason I decided to work with you besides your looks." Raquel stood up and put finger on his chest before leaving the room to gather her gear.

"It's good to be the king." Orion grinned to himself.

-BACK WITH MAX-

The Road warrior was now busy on a night patrol, waiting for the retaliation he'd predicted that would happen. It wasn't hard to for Max to understand that when you attack criminal enterprises, they'll always strike back, the only question was when. He got the answer when he was cruising down the freeway and a small pack of 3 armored trucks appeared behind him with turrets mounted on their roofs. Seeing the imminent danger in his rearview mirror, he braked hard and spun in a 180 and the swapped the gear to reverse. Thinking quickly, Max fired a flare round into the face of a gunner who started firing wildly at the other trucks while he desperately tried to put himself out. The other two gunners were killed in the crossfire and Max used that to his advantage, flipping the car around again and getting behind the pursuing enemy vehicles. He burned out the tires with a loud satisfying skid as he caught back up to the enemy trucks. Max punched throttle avoided the trucks as their drivers attempted to ram him.

"Waste that motherfucker!" A driver shouted as a side door on the truck opened and a hitman tried to fire his rifle at Max. The road warrior fired a lighting blast from his shotgun into the truck and shocked the whole crew causing the large vehicle to flip over and tumble over the side of the freeway into a parking lot. With one truck don and two more to go, Max continued his road battle against the hit squad. Another truck had a new gunner climb up to the machine and he began to rain lead at the nimble muscle car. The road warrior gritted his teeth furiously as he attempted to deal with the situation. As if by an act of god, a big rig appeared further ahead on the expressway and it was hauling a large concrete pipe. Seeing a chance to get the trucks off his back, Max pulled ahead to the front of the big rig and began firing at the trucks behind him. The rig driver was startled by the firefight and a stray round hit his front tire causing the oversized truck to jackknife and unleash the massive pipe. Within seconds the giant concrete cylinder snapped its chains and slammed onto the pavement. One of the two remaining trucks slammed head on into the rolling block of destruction while the over slammed its brakes and spun out wildly.

Max checked his rearview, satisfied with the results of the battle that had been waged tonight. He slowed the vehicle to a stop and turned around to get back to the criminals who'd tried to take him down. He rolled down the road to see one truck crushed while the other was laying on its side. He then stepped out of the interceptor to check for survivors. Just as he was about to pry open the driver's side door of the overturned assault truck, Max heard a loud rumble in the distance. What he saw next made him dash for the interceptor and re-fire the engine, burning out as an even larger pack of assault vehicles of various types raced towards him.

The wolf pack of assault cars were lead by a vehicle that resembled a newer version of the shovelface body Max used to build 'The Jack' with chum. The mean machine had red stripes, armor, and a pair of miniguns mounted to its armored hood that spun up and started firing at the interceptor. Max really wished he'd brought along Bruz for this so that he'd have some back up to deal with the unexpected horde of war machines. A brutal looking pickup truck with afront mounted plow, rooftop RPGS, and side mounted Gatling guns caught up to him and fired a burst from its weapons. Max hit the nitro and started to pull away for some breathing room, but he was the only one with something extra under the hood as some of the other cars began to speed up.

The sports car caught up to Max and started to go head to head with him in a slamming match. The interceptor's body groaned form the repeated bashing as its driver battled a heavily armored beast. Max braked as he faked slam and hit the enemy vehicle's rear right corner, causing it to spin out. The other cars in the pack fired up their guns and unloaded on the interceptor, pounding it with repeated gunfire. Max knew his car wouldn't stand up to all the heavy fire for much longer, and he desperately tried to find an exit. Seeing a slim turn off that lead to another freeway lane, Max turned on to it, hoping to bottleneck most of the other cars. His call turned out for the best as some of the larger cars wrecked into the walls. Max flipped them the middle finger as he pulled away with a huge burst of blue flames erupting from the interceptor's exhausts.

"Don't let him get away! I want his head on a slab got it?!" Orion lost his cool as he hammered down on the gas pedal of red striped sports car.

"I wouldn't worry too much about that, he's already taken beating as it is!" One driver in nimble drifting car replied.

"Shut up you idiot! He's still faster than the rest of us, I want him dead! If he gets back to Beacon-!" Orion roared furiously.

"Relax, he won't Orion, I'll be the one to strangle him myself! In fact, I've got a big surprise to play with!" Raquel practically screamed in fury over the radio.

"Have fun your dreadnought gorgeous!" Orion grinned menacingly.

"Oh, I will! HAAHAAHA!" Raquel cackled dementedly.

Max saw only a few cars still on his tail as he pulled off of the freeway and into the city in order to lose them. He swerved around a corner and cleaned up the turn with a burst of nitro. Two cars that couldn't handle the sharp turn collided with the walls of several buildings. Ahead of them was a jump that would take the road battle back to the docks. Another freighter had just sailed into the port to offload its cargo and the section of the terminal was bustling with workers on the night shift and heavy industrial vehicles.

The interceptor screamed into the terminal with the last of the enemy assault cars still tailing him. An alert sounded on the interceptor's dash as a hull integrity sensor went off on the fuel tanks. Max knew that if the tanks gave out he'd go up in flames or have to bail. Suddenly out of nowhere what Max could swear was a War Rig rumbled out of a warehouse and onto the road. The massive tool of destruction bared down on the interceptor trying to crush the high-speed pursuit special. Max had to find a way to take down this heavy metal monster or risk being ripped apart like a tin can. He barely managed to avoid a burst of flames from a mounted weapon on the rig's trailer. The campaign of vehicular carnage didn't end there as the War Rig attempted to slam Max into a stack of shipping containers. Max pressed the for all it was worth and slipped out of the tight squeeze and spotted his escape by the way of a dockyard shunting train. The train blared its klaxon as it approached the battling vehicles. Max Passed right in front of the train as the War Rig slammed into it while trying to swerve out of the way. The interceptor then disappeared in the chaos and escaped into the city.

Raquel, beaten and bloodied from the wreck, climbed her way out of the wrecked dreadnought and dropped to the floor. Orion pulled up in the sports car and picked her up from the pavement, cursing under his breath that this was only the beginning.

-END CHAPTER-


	15. Strategic Complications

Mad Max: Road to Salvation

Episode 15[46]: Strategic Complications

A/N: Sorry about the delay folks, writer's block hit me hard again. Oh and to reviewer who looked at volume 1 recently, thank you so much for your review. I think that you might not like this chapter but I made a promise to other readers that I have to keep. But still I hope you're okay with it. In the case of Sharkface, sure he was bad, but to me he didn't have that 'love to hate' quality that Felix did.

* * *

[Review dude: Yep, and thanks.]

[dirtrevor: you could say that.]

[Wombag1786: That is the question isn't it? Also, yes and no, you'll find out what I'm building up to.]

[Guest 1: Yes.]

[CAD D CHATTERBOX: He's here alright. Your welcome. I'll do my best.]

[Ronmr: Yep, thanks.]

[Ice: who can say.]

[Charles: I get that. At least I did a decent job.]

[Guest 2: The VPD will have responded to that chaos, the freeway especially, police response is not instant even with that much carnage. Thanks.]

[Lordofuselessness: Who knows?]

* * *

-TUKSON'S BOOKS: DOWNTOWN VALE: 2 WEEKS LATER-

Krel and Slice were busy visiting the local bookstore to collect some important literature for both themselves and their associates. It was supposed to be a milk run for them and Krel just so happened to know the owner from his days in the White Fang. As both agents strolled through the door they were greeted by the sight of the owner, the panther faunus Tukson.

"Well if it isn't my old pal Krel… Here for your books?" The panther asked in a jovial tone.

"You know it Tuck." The bear answered with a laid-back grin.

"I also ordered some special materials from Mistral, Tukson." Slice said as he seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

"Ah, not you!" Tukson jumped back slightly in fear of the notorious former assassin standing beside his friend.

"I grow tired of saying this, but I am not here to kill you. Although perhaps some information would be useful." The Doberman faunus said in an exasperated tone. Tukson calmed down slightly when Krel signaled that he was on the level. The two of them briefly stepped back from the counter to discuss something.

"Pretty sure I said I'd do the talking." Krel whispered.

"That is of no concern." Slice said uncaringly.

"Partner, after all we've been through, I think it is." Krel started to get annoyed with his associate's attitude.

"*sigh* Not to be rude to an old buddy, but can you guys just focus on your purchase, rather than your 'personal problems'?" Tukson sighed, having heard everything, and pointed out the fact they were paying customers in his store.

"Oh, screw you!" Krel snapped.

-5 MINUTES LATER-

Just as the argument ended, two teenagers walked through the door and briefly narrowed their eyes in displeasure before putting on their grins again. "Welcome to Tukson's books, be with ya in a minute!" The irritated shopkeeper called out to the two teens.

"Great, now what do we do? These guys will be here all day!" Mercury hissed to his minty-haired partner in crime.

"We'll just come back later." Emerald replied in a hushed tone as they both walked back out of the store.

"Before or after he makes a break for it?" Mercury groaned as soon as they both 'thought' they were out of earshot.

"Before Cinder takes her anger at Felix out on the two of us." Emerald said casually.

"He's not 'that' bad, but he is funny." Mercury replied.

"To us, maybe. Cinder, …well the more he roasts her, the more likely she just might roast him alive first chance she gets when he isn't useful to Salem anymore." The pickpocket retorted.

"That'll be fun to watch." Mercury grinned.

"No doubt about that, Mercury. It'll be him getting charbroiled for his mistakes, not us. We can say we just did harmless recon and sightseeing today." Emerald chuckled at the idea. Both of them had no idea that Slice had heard what they, albeit slightly muffled. The master assassin chose to hold that information to himself for the time being until it would be useful. If he heard it right, then it seemed Tukson would need some protection, which would be enough reason for a stake out.

-MEANWHILE: BEACON ACADEMY-

Bruz and his team were minding their own business eating lunch when a food fight spontaneously broke out in the cafeteria. Titus was quick to lead the team out of the carnage and away from the punishment from the head disciplinarian that would surely follow. As they made their daring escape from the chaos of flying fists and foodstuffs they ran into Sun and his partner Neptune. Bruz was quick to chum with them and warned that they could enter the building at their own risk if they wanted to. Obviously, team BATS wanted no part of it because of the consequences. Bruz especially wanted no part of it, as fun as he admitted it would be, and was very quick to point out how moody his stepmother had become since she and his foster father had tied the knot. If he didn't know any better it would almost seem like her scent had changed as well as her stride when she walked.

Right on a que after a few minutes of chaos Bruz could see Glynda using her semblance to grind the food fight to a screeching halt. He took a quick sigh of relief at having dodged a bullet, even though Ozpin was being lenient Glynda wouldn't have been later. The manic mechanic quickly ducked his head down to avoid being spotted and plead that he was busy working with his team if it came up.

After the incident in the cafeteria had been dealt with Glynda and Ozpin made their way to the office where Max and Mari would be waiting to meet them. High above the prestigious academy in Ozpin's office, Max, Glynda, Mari, and Ozpin were all waiting for a visiting ally. A moment later military aircraft appeared in the skies overhead, signaling the arrival of General Ironwood and his forces.

"Ironwood sure likes bringing his work with him wherever he travels." Glynda remarked at the display of military force.

"Glynda my friend, that is an understatement. Makes me wonder if he's compensating for something." Mari said with a mocking smirk.

"Well running an academy and a military makes him a busy man, but yes those are a bit of an eyesore." Ozpin remarked.

"He's made a tactical error already." Max growled sourly at the general's over reliance on brute force.

"Perhaps, but you must remember Max, subtlety is nether his strong-suit or yours for that matter." Ozpin reminded the road warrior of his own faults.

"Hmph." The grizzled wasteland veteran grunted ambiguously.

"Ozpin!" General Ironwood said as he exited the elevator.

"General." The wise headmaster replied as he strolled over to the headmaster of Atlas academy.

"Drop the formalities. It's been too long, and Glynda, it certainly has been too long since we last met… I heard you married recently, congratulations." James said casually and noticed the shinning wedding band on Glynda's ring finger.

"Oh James, …I'll be outside." The wife of Max greeted the military man. She then muttered her next course of action to her husband and the headmaster with Mari following closely behind her. The foxy faunus stuck her nose in the air as she followed closely behind her friend.

"Officer Rockatansky." James then turned to the less enthused wasteland veteran.

"General." Max replied with a hint of disdain in his voice and a disapproving scowl on his face.

"Now, now, Max, I know you and our friend James have your differences but there's no need to be rude." Ozpin got in between the two feuding individuals and attempted to prevent a disagreement.

"Hmph, doesn't matter." Max grunted.

"Ozpin informed me of some more history of yours. Your daughter being a high value asset to be precise." James interrupted them and looked Max in the eye. The road warrior began to growl in anger.

"It seems you told him something he did not need to know yet." Max retorted with his eyes narrowed in quiet anger at the headmaster.

"If our alliance is going to work then there are things I must know in make this work. The fact that she is out there without protection makes it only more necessary that I take measures." The general replied sternly.

"Knowing you, you'll place a constant guard on her and that will only attract attention!" Max snarled.

"Gentlemen, this is no time for arguing. Now Max, I will admit, I relayed some information to James that I hadn't already when you ventured to Atlas, but in my and the general's defense it was required." The headmaster replied.

"When we had our agreement in the beginning of my stay here well over a year ago, you lead me to believe I could trust you Ozpin. You should have told me first." Max snarled with his teeth grinding slightly.

"And you still can, but trust is a two-way street. Give and take so to speak." Ozpin tried to calm down a slightly fuming Max and took a sip from his mug before continuing with the conversation. "*sigh*Now let us move on to more pressing matters. For instance, why specifically the general has brought along his armed forces. James, you know we are supposed to be in a time of peace. Shows of power like this are going to give off the wrong impression."

"But if what Qrow said is true, then-" The general started to utter his defense but was cut off by Ozpin.

"If what Qrow said is true then we will handle it tactfully. It's the Vytal festival, a time to celebrate unity and peace, so I suggest you try not to scare people by transporting hundreds of soldiers halfway across the continent." Ozpin retorted.

"I'm just being cautious." Ironwood said with some annoyance.

"Tch, if that were true, then one ship or perhaps two would be acceptable, at most. Precision is the better choice, not brute force." The road warrior spat rudely.

"You may have been a guest at my academy, but you forget that you are a backwater police officer who became a huntsman! What makes you so knowledgeable about battlefield strategy?!" The general snapped.

"I've survived in the wilderness for years alone, bested marauders and opponents that would make your troops and their experience helpless in comparison, either by myself or with few others! All without aura or a semblance in extremely desperate situations just to survive as a start! I can say I've warned you before that someone will turn your strength against you and you've blatantly ignored me, again!" Max roared at the general getting in his face.

"That's enough, both of you! This petty bickering is not helping our situation in the slightest!" Ozpin put his foot down and both offenders backed down. Max leaned back against the wall with a disapproving look while the general stood his ground. "Now we must get back to the important discussion at hand. For the time being we will continue to train the best huntsmen and huntresses we can."

"Believe me, I am." The general said as he turned to walk away. "But ask yourselves this, do you honestly believe those children can win a war."

"If I have any choice about it, with my training either they will, or they won't have to." Max said loud enough for the general to hear his words of conviction. The general said nothing as he entered the elevator and left the room.

"I would appreciate it greatly if you didn't rile him up." Ozpin said in a scolding tone to the wasteland veteran.

"His blundering is going to get innocents killed, this is not a conventional conflict and he is an arrogant fool to see it as one!" Max retorted.

"I won't disagree with you on that Max, but he is a valuable ally, and we need as many as we can get." Ozpin reminded the hardened wasteland warrior in a tired voice.

"Hmph, I'm going to teach my classes, it seems I must be the only who can see a catastrophe waiting to happen." Max growled as he went to the elevator to do his job and prepare. He briefly stopped

-THE NEXT DAY-

Everything was business as usual so far at the academy, students were attending classes, teachers were teaching and ass was kicked by Mari in her class. She was enjoying teaching her students how to fight their battles and just like another of her fellow instructors, she'd step in if a student was being difficult. She had less problems in her class than Max or Glynda but they would always trouble makers. As she taught her class though, something peculiar began happen. The lights above the stage dimmed and flickered slightly. At first, she wrote it off as a few bad bulbs, but then more lights began to follow suit. Before anyone could comment on the annoying flashes, sparks and glass rained from the ceiling as the lights violently blew out.

Everyone took cover under their respective desks until a bright electric blue orb appeared over the stage. For several minutes the ball of lighting kept on growing larger and larger, reaching the size of small car. It carried on with its destructiveness until two human shaped figures were unceremoniously spat out of it. The anomaly got considerably worse before it exploded like a lightning dust explosive, shorting out all the electronics in the room, and making one very loud bang before it disappeared. The room had been darkened by the lack of power but Mari then started opening the blinds by hand which would take a while.

"Is everyone all right?!" Mari called out to her students in concern for their wellbeing.

The students replied with various calls of confirmation. "Yes!" "Yeah! "We're good!"

"What the hell was that thing?!" One boy yelled in confusion from his seat.

"I now officially hate dimensional rifts, that was definitely the worst day ever, of all time." A strangely familiar voice groaned lazily.

"That was really fun and kind of scary, …let's do it again!" Another eerily familiar voice said in a happy go lucky tone.

"Is that the headmaster? What's he doing here?" A girl reacted to the sound of the first mystery voice.

"The other guy sounds like Oobleck!" A boy shouted pointing out the obvious.

"Finally!" Mari exclaimed as she opened the blinds before turning around and getting a good look at who was now in her classroom.

"Hello nice pretty fox lady!" A figure in dark blue futuristic armor said as he got up and waved at the foxy huntress.

"Ugh, when I see Carolina, she and everyone else will have a lot to explain." The other figure in yellow striped steel grey armor groaned as he shook his head and stood up beside the figure in dark blue armor.

"Bart, Ozpin…?" The foxy lady said with a look of confusion on her face before drawing her guns and her students following her example. The clicking sounds of various weapons and their transformations echoed throughout the room until every student had their weapon ready for battle.

"This is awkward." The figure in grey armor said as he looked around the room and then back at the woman who pointed her twin magnum pistols at his head.

"Ooh is this my first day of school, this looks neat! I didn't bring my homework, but I think that's ok." The man in blue said in a happy childlike manner.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU TWO, WHY DO YOU SOUND LIKE MY BOSS, WHY DOES HE SOUND LIKE A COWORKER, AND WHY ARE YOU IN MY CLASSROOM?!" Mari shouted as she pointed her guns at the head of the smart sounding one next to the dumber blue one.

"*sigh*It's a long and very convoluted story." The grey armored figure replied.

"Bum, bum, bum. Cliffhanger." The blue armored figure said in an ominous yet still dopey manner.

-END CHAPTER-


	16. Speed Bump

Mad Max: Road to Salvation: Volume 2

Episode 16: Speed Bumps

A/N: To be fair to everyone I will consider putting up a poll to decide whether or not the two 'Gulch Crew' members get to stay. I had promised they would appear and I have done so. Updates might get a bit sporadic but I will keep trying my best to keep up.

* * *

[ice:Yes, Max is certainly right.]

[Guest 1: Absolutely, Those two are the only outside characters I ever planned on bringing in.]

[Wombag1786: Maybe I am, for once it's not entirely Caboose's fault. Glynda and her bun in the oven will be fine physically, but other than that, all I will say on that front is that a storm is coming.]

[Javier the wordsmith: Yes, Id been waiting to put in those two. Sorry but I have something else planned for Tucker, as well the rest of the gulch crew. So they won't exactly be in this story.]

[dirtrevor: I thought it already was? :) ]

[Dungeon Wyrm: I feel the same way dude. This stuff is gold!]

[Guest 2: I understand where you're coming from but if you read the first volume then you would know there was plenty of fair warning from Chumbucket. Though I I hope it's okay that I at least mention a much wider multiverse by way of mentioning characters from other franchises. Those two are my means of doing so, but if enough other readers want them gone they will go. ]

[Batman: That depends on what you mean.]

[Eye: Yes, it certainly was.]

[CAD D CHATTERBOX: Heh, yeah.]

[Charles: Thank you dude.]

[Lordofuselesness: Maybe it was, who knows. "Great scott!"]

* * *

-EARLIER THAT DAY-

Bruz had been walking the campus grounds as he had a free period and couldn't help but notice a certain trio that appeared to be from haven. One of the two girls and had mint green hair and dark brown skin while the other had long black hair and skin that seemed almost ashen white. The boy though had short grey hair and he stank of poor hygiene. Normally he'd just ignore them as they were allowed to be here at the academy. But there something about them that just seemed wrong to him, something very wrong. He continued to tail the group, trying pick up on any conversation they were having. So far, they hadn't said anything that would prove his suspicions correct though. Soon enough though, Bruz got a hefty waft of air that blew towards him from their direction. The strongest stench was both enticingly sweet like cinnamon and yet just as foul as hot cinders and ashes. The unnerving odor seemed to slap him in the face with its alluring yet repulsive dual nature. As he cautiously stalked the group of suspicious individuals he did manage to pick up on their names at least.

"So, Cinder, how do long do you think until you find what you're looking for?" The girl with green hair asked curiously.

"Patience, Emerald, the target is hiding here somewhere." The black-haired girl known as Cinder replied.

"But it could be anyone and it'll take forever to search this whole damn school for whoever it is!" The boy with grey hair groaned.

"Lower your voice Mercury, need I remind you not to draw attention?" Cinder hissed menacingly.

"No." Mercury replied.

"Good." Cinder said in a pleased manner. "She has to be here somewhere and one way or another I will have what I want."

'Who the hell are they after? Why here of all places?' Bruz wondered to himself as he kept out of sight from the three of them. His instincts told him that it would be unwise to continue with the pursuit but he knew he had to be sure about them. Without any solid intel he couldn't just run and tattle on them to Max or Glynda. Lacking any evidence, even if they believed him, which Max would, there wouldn't be anything they could do. If anything, that would only alert these people to the staff's suspicion and things would get nasty from there.

"Hey Cinder." Emerald got the other girl's attention.

"What, Emerald?" Cinder replied.

"A while back you mentioned a boy…" Emerald trailed off.

"What are you getting at Emerald?" Cinder narrowed her eyes at her thieving subordinate.

"Do you like him? If its who I think it is, I'll admit he is kind of hot." The min haired girl replied bluntly.

"I do not see how that is any of your business." Cinder growled with a hint of venom in her voice. The sound of which seemed to tug at Bruz for some odd reason.

"C'mon, from what I heard, you like that guy." Emerald teased.

"Choose your next words very carefully." Cinder threatened her pawn.

"All I'm saying is that I know you wouldn't have done that without a reason. The more we know, the more useful we are, eh." Emerald rationalized her argument.

"He is… attractive. Perhaps with some convincing he might see things in a manner beneficial to our cause." Cinder admitted with a slight blush on her face and something else going on down below where no man has yet to go. She shuffled uncomfortably as if she were aroused by the very thought of a boy they had yet to call by name.

"So, you do like him then?" Emerald prodded the one vulnerability Cinder had ever shown.

"This is your last warning Emerald." Cinder said spat venomously.

"Alright, far be it from me to play matchmaker and gossip girl for you." Emerald backed off, not wanting to be charred to a crisp by her leader.

"I don't think he's as tough as everyone says he is." Mercury bragged smugly.

"You have yet to see his strength firsthand Mercury." Cinder retorted at his baseless bragging.

"We saw him tank a few hits on TV, so what? I'm banking that he doesn't have the speed to keep up with me." Mercury remembered the tournament they saw some time ago.

"I suppose we shall see soon enough. He was strong enough to survive an encounter with me, but I admit was only toying with him." Cinder said with a dark and twisted grin of mad lust on her face. "When the time comes, he'll fear me, and then he'll submit."

"I-If I thought you were scary before, you're even scarier when it comes to the guy you like!" Emerald stuttered as she observed Cinder's transformation from a cool calm menace to an aroused terrifying psychopath.

'That bitch is crazy!' Bruz screamed in his head as he watched the psychotic girl with black hair radiate pure molten evil. His stomach churned with unease as he followed behind them, all the while feeling sorry for whoever was the target of that sadist's twisted affection. A horrible gut feeling pegged himself as that poor sap she had her heart set on torturing. Feeling he'd learned enough, the dingo faunus slipped away quietly.

Bruz then went over to the small spot that Ozpin had allowed to be set up for Anya and Daniel to play in. There was a shady tree, sandbox, and bench beneath the tree where Amy was sitting to keep an eye on the two children at play. The Manic mechanic breathed in relief that the both of them were alright and that Amy was watching them. IF anything were to happen they'd be safe.

-LATER-

Once word had spread of the newcomers when other staff went to check out the commotion it was definitely a strange experience. Max had shown up himself, and he with help from Glynda and a few other Beacon staff, lead the strangers to Ozpin's office at gunpoint. Meanwhile outside just outside the limit of academy grounds, a certain mystic was grinning at what had just transpired, the aid that Chumbucket the greasy acolyte foretold of, had arrived. Back in the school, the group ascended the elevator and arrived at the head master's office. It was now Max, Mari, and Glynda who were escorting the two newcomers who had dropped in. The elevator pinged when it reached the correct floor and everyone stepped out of it, into the office. The unneeded staff members returned to their own classes while Max, Mari, and Glynda stayed. Ironwood arrived after a few minutes of being notified of the new development.

"Now who might you two gentlemen be?" Ozpin said in a welcoming tone to the two travelers.

"I'm Michael J. Caboose and this is my friend agent Washington!" The dark blue armored figure shouted happily.

"It's nice you meet you mister Caboose." Ozpin said with a smile as he greeted the childlike man in armor.

"Ooh you sound just like him! Oh my god there's two of you!" Caboose said as he pointed to Wash.

"Do I now?" Ozpin raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah you do, and as to why we're here is like I told your staff, it's a long story." Washington spoke up and put a hand to his head in exasperation.

"Then by all means tell me, we have all the time you need." Ozpin leaned back in his chair to get comfortable.

"OH, WASHINGTON, I WANT TO TELL THE STORY!" Caboose shouted eagerly. "You see my friends went through time and stuff and we broke a lot of things, especially Tucker. After that we went to save Washington, but then everything stopped and got really weird and scary. Then I found this really fun place where I made lots of friends and we played a game to get the stick of truth! When that got boring, we started playing superheroes and I helped save the day!"

"Caboose, why don't you let me tell them, ok buddy?" Washington put a hand on the blue imbecile's shoulder.

"Ok!" Caboose said happily and Washington then began to cover the important details.

"What's important is that my friends, him included, caused a paradox by the way of time travel. They did it to help me, but in doing so they wrecked the time stream of our universe and allowed an evil time god to take control our part of the multiverse. Instead of being erased though-" Wash explained but was interrupted by his comrade in blue.

"We were saved by my old best friend Church, and two really nice people! Then the nice people fixed Washington!" The blue man-child piped up.

"This is where things get far less believable…. Which now that I say it out loud makes it sound even more ridiculous. So I'll keep it short." Washington put a hand to his helmet at the sheer absurdity of the situation.

"You've already lost me in the weeds." Mari said with a look of confusion on her face.

"Agreed." Max grunted and crossed his arms.

"To make another long and confusing story shorter and slightly less confusing, my friend and I ran into some 'ghosts' of the past along with two, for lack of a better term, deities." Washington explained in short, this knowledge immediately caught Ozpin's attention

"Then please describe them, these deities you encountered." The wise headmaster pressed for information.

"One of them looked like he was from some kind of post-apocalyptic desert, ragged clothes, a large backpack, hood, goggles. The other one was about as tall as a young child, sort of had the attitude of one too, she had… pinkish skin and red hair. For saving our lives, and as punishment for our disruption of the space-time continuum which damaged reality, my team and I, as well several people we know, now owe them a life debt. To make up for it, our group was scattered across the multiverse with various tasks. Of course, before they would clarify what our task was or any other effects the paradox had on reality, Caboose and I found ourselves in the classroom." Washington continued with his explanation, describing the two beings who'd dispatched him and his friend.

"The short lady was really nice to me, so we became friends! She said her name was something Super something of time. But that was really long so she told me to just call her Chronoa." Caboose added.

"Hmm… well then if that's the case, as strange as your tale may be, I believe you." The headmaster said with a calm smile.

"You honestly trust these two after that obnoxiously absurd story?!" Ironwood finally voiced his concern about the two travelers.

"James, unless you can explain how they both arrived here a better way, then we must take them at their word. There have been… stranger occurrences in the past. To be frank, it's believable because it's far too strange and detailed to be a lie, the evidence supports it." Ozpin said firmly.

"It's insanity!" The general shouted.

"Max, how do you feel about this? And if you must know, because I'm too annoyed to think right now." Glynda looked to her husband. She couldn't feeling irritated just by looking at the blue one.

The wasteland veteran wrinkled his brow in thought before coming to his own conclusion about the two individuals. "Give them time, and watch them. If they want our trust, they'll have to earn it."

"All things considered, that works." Washington replied.

"The first one, did he tell you his name?" Max asked the grey armored man in a demanding tone.

"Yeah he called himself Griffa." Washington said calmly.

-SEVERAL HOURS LATER-

It was certainly a good thing that school had nearly ended for the day when the two soldiers from another had arrived because their story was quite a tall tale to tell. After the both of them had given the full story of their origins, with much needed clarification from Washington, to the inner circle, they were placed under the supervision of Krel and Slice. Max had left the two newcomers to be watched by the former white fang member and assassin who seemed to get along quite well with them. Of course, the dark blue soldier slipped away somehow and happened upon Anya and Daniel's play area. The two little children just so happened to really enjoy the blue idiot's company since it could be said that he had the mind of a child himself.

Max had gone to the school's firing range to blow off steam with his rifle. He lined up the targets and mowed down the holographic grimm at his usual pace. The frustrated man couldn't help but feel like this was only relieving some of the pressure that had built up. He considered spending some time with Glynda but she was being moodier than normal. There were times when her anger seemed to just boil over beyond reason in recent days. Max knew the last thing he wanted was to earn his wife's ire when she was irritated. The tired road warrior sighed as he reloaded the weapon and set the targets again. Just as he was about to fire again, Bruz entered the room.

"Oi boss! I know you need some private time but-!" Bruz bellowed to his foster father just after he kicked in the firing range door.

"What is it Bruz?" Max growled in annoyance at the interruption of his alone time for the day.

"Have I got something to tell you!" Bruz replied in an urgent tone as he approached Max's booth.

"If it has anything to do with what happened in Mari's classroom-" The road warrior was about to dismiss his apprentice but was interrupted.

"Not that, and I met them by the way. The blue one is so bloody funny though! Can we keep him?" The manic dingo mechanic laughed as he slapped his knee from remembering when he encountered the blue armored soldier playing with the two little kids.

"Focus, what was it you wanted to tell me?!" Max snapped.

"Oh, I think we have some foxes in the henhouse." Bruz said in a dead serious tone.

"…Infiltrators." Max snarled.

"Right'o, I don't have anything concrete yet, but I have a few suspects so far." Bruz replied, confirming Max's suspicions.

"Fine, report back to me if you find out anything important. We need every advantage we can get." The road warrior ordered to his battle tested apprentice.

"Got it, by the way, you might want to hide some of the projects we've been working on, just in case." Bruz saluted and warned his mentor of the danger his countermeasures posed if they fell into the wrong hands.

"That's already taken care of." Max waved him off dismissively.

"Well that was fast… Ok, great, I'll get back to it then." Bruz replied as he left the firing range, hearing Max returning to his firing of the advanced combat rifle. The young mechanic shivered a bit when he thought of the sadistic and somewhat pretty girl who'd he seen. Try as he might, the young mechanic couldn't shake the terrible feeling that she was here to cause something terrible and it was up to him to throw a wrench into it. If it was last thing he did, he silently swore to himself he would put a stop to it.

-END CHAPTER-


	17. Rough Night

Mad Max: Road to Salvation: Volume 2

Episode 17: Rough Night

[Charles: I appreciate the enthusiasm man. Yes, that was Supreme Kai of Time from DB Xenoverse.]

[Dirtrevor: Indeed, and that shall be a mystery until I release a story for it.]

[Wombag1786: I agree, You should probably catch up. What's coming will be, ...emotional.]

* * *

-BEACON: SEVERAL DAYS LATER-

The two outsiders had settled in nicely among the students and staff of Beacon, even with the hilarity that would ensue from Caboose's antics. Wash was proving himself by assisting Max in several investigations as well as some tactical opinions. The freelancer the former cop shared a mutual dislike of the general from Atlas. The two of them even performed a mission together to gauge Washington's skills against a resurgent machine cult. This time though some of the cultists not only seemed to fear Max but even revere him. The instances wherein that occurred both puzzled and slightly annoyed the road warrior. With Washington's assistance the splinter group was crushed and the survivors fled leaving no trace as where they had gone. Max had an inkling that it was not the last of them by any means. When the two of them returned to the academy they worked together on a special of Max's that was slightly different from Bruz was working on in his spare time. The freelancer had inquired what it was but Max refused to answer so Washington shrugged it off.

Glynda had finally asked Taiyang to have the three babies brought over to her place for a few days to see how they would react to the change of caretakers. Surprisingly enough, the three of them got along fine under Glynda's care and she had even started nursing them with her own assets to which they dug right in. Though one of them would have to be bottle fed from time to time when she did nurse them. Thanks to Taiyang and his daughters, they were used to the standard baby bottle formula. A temporary joint custody agreement was made for the time being until the finer details could be worked out. It was especially helpful that Amy was already experienced with her own son and offered to help with the three new little ones.

Over the course of the last few days, Bruz found it difficult to continue shadowing the group of suspected infiltrators as the thief among them had started to suspect they were being followed. The dingo faunus knew that he was on to something now because they were onto the fact they were being watched. Unfortunately, that meant he had to swap tactics for a while. After doing some work on his latest weapons project with the good doctor Grey, the tired dingo faunus fancied a stroll around the campus. As he was passing the general vicinity of RWBY's room he bumped into Sun and Neptune who were hanging around near said team's room, literally.

"Oi, what are you two doing round here?" Bruz asked the two bros.

"Just hanging around. How about you?" Sun responded as he swung from a ledge.

"… Were you spying on those girls… including my girl?" The dingo faunus crossed his arms and growled in slight anger.

"No not all big guy… just listening." Sun put his hands up/down defensively. "A little off topic but, did I hear that you dated a rabbit girl around here named Velvet?" The cheeky monkey dug up an old rumor.

Bruz went a little red at the mention of his ex-girlfriend. "Y-yeah we broke up, it was mutual, don't ask." The brawny dingo boy scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Okay, but you know me bonehead, I'm always here to talk." Sun offered.

"I'll keep it in mind banana breath. Anyway, are you really just listening? I'll warn you both, even that has consequences." Bruz crossed his arms again and drummed his fingers.

"Yes, and neither of us meant anything pervy by it. Right Neptune?" Sun crossed his heart and then looked down to his other bro.

"Right, just listening." The blue haired boy swore.

Hearing that little bit of honesty, Bruz took a breath and chilled out allowing Sun and Neptune to relax. "Alright then I'll bite, what are you listening for exactly?" He asked curiously.

"Climb on up and you'll find out." Sun gestured to the window.

"This had better actually be interesting monkey brains." Bruz said in a huff of exasperation as he climbed the vines and lattice to the girl's window. The three bros then heard the entire plan straight from the mouths of team RWBY. The whole bunch of them then discussed what was going to happen when they executed their plan. Suffice it to say, Bruz was more than eager to get some payback at Torchwick and Felix for what happened at the docks. Yang then kissed her boyfriend saying that he was being a very good 'boy' friend. The happy dingo faunus stamped his foot a few times as Yang smooched him and then scratched him under the chin. Blake shook her head in embarrassment at the sight of how Bruz was representing the faunus race.

-NIGHT: DOWNTOWN VALE-

When the time came, everyone split into their assigned groups. Bruz reluctantly went with Blake but was at least happy to be hanging with Sun. The annoyed dingo faunus snarled slightly at the fact that Neptune would be going with Yang. The buxom blonde brawler was happy to know that she had a dedicated hound dog but threatened to make him heel if he didn't simmer down, which he did. Neptune sweated nervously at Bruz's seriousness when it came to his girlfriend and swore up and down not to try anything funny. After that was all said and done, Bruz changed into a different outfit and headed to the WF meeting with his two temporary teammates. His new attire was made of combat boots, a grease stain covered navy blue mechanic's overalls, welder's skull face-wrap, racing logo hat, black tactical gloves, and combat goggles. Bruz even grabbed the special project he was working on from the garage while Max and Wash were busy somewhere else. He made sure he snatched and primed Max's emergency beacon, just in case the plan went bad.

"So, what's that on your back bonehead?" Sun asked his brawny buddy.

"A little project I've been working on with the school's good doctor." Bruz replied, gesturing to the leather sheath on his back.

"Nice disguise though, really nails the hard worker schtick." Sun gave his friend a thumbs up.

"Of course, as far as anyone else knows, I'm a regular mechanic who just got off work for the night." Bruz shrugged with the crossed wrenches holstered beside his new weapon.

"So long as you don't say anything you're fine." Blake said stoically.

"Yeah, unlike you, I've bothered to actually make myself look different." Bruz bragged.

"I do look different-!" Blake snapped.

"Not really kitty, your ears, figure, and bright white clean clothes give you away. Believe it or not, your clothes make you stick out like a sore thumb. I mean they just scream huntress, not oppressed worker!" Bruz retorted matter-of-factly at Blake's choice of attire.

"He's got a point." Sun agreed with his outback bro and the two of them fist bumped.

"Hmph, I won't dignify that with a response." Blake huffed in annoyance.

"Heh, technically that is a response." The dingo said smarmily with a grin under his bandanna. Blake said nothing this time with a telltale scowl on her face and they continued to the WF recruiting spot.

Eventually, the trio arrived at the meeting spot and put on some grim masks. They watched as Torchwick walked on stage and immediately started some little sleazy speech about humans and faunus that made Bruz growl in anger. Suddenly the shady thief revealed a stolen Atlas Paladin mech suit to the crowd of prospective WF initiates. Bruz knew he had to stop this before Torchwick could recognize the dingo's associates. Without even a shred of hesitation, the son of Max rushed the stage and knocked out a grunt or two his wake.

"Evening Torchy!" Bruz said as he leapt onto the stage.

"Oh, not you again! What is it with you, do I look like I'm fucking carrying biscuits for you mutt-face?!" Torchwick snapped at the presence of one of his hated enemies. The two of them charged each other with the crowd of Civilian Faunus and Grunts watching the battle between the thief and mechanic unfold with anticipation.

Bruz hammered away at the thief with his wrench only for his swings to surpisingly miss their mark. Torchwick grinned as he tried to take shot with cane but Bruz ducked under it and threw a heavy uppercut. The thief was knocked down onto his back and before he could react, Bruz stood over him and lifted his boot menacingly Torchwick only had a split second to realize what was coming before said boot came down on his crotch, aura be damned, this would hurt.

-SEVERAL MINUTES LATER-

The group of teens were then running across the rooftops in a mad dash to escape a rampaging Roman in his stolen Atlas Paladin mech.

"I'm going to crush you for this!" Roman shouted using the mech's speakers.

"Did you really have to kick him in the balls twice?! The second time might've been overkill!" Sun panted to his friend as the three teens ran from the heavy metal monster.

"Damn right I did! The bastard had that coming! Besides, that was funny as hell to hear him scream like a little girl from that good bit of roshambo!" Bruz shouted with a bit of glee and no regret. "I ought to break those up more often!"

"Well at least we called the others for backup! Hey why don't you fight that thing?!" Sun shouted.

"…Oh, totally I could take that tin can! I hadn't thought about it, not!" Bruz replied sarcastically as he leapt over an airduct.

"Then go punch it big guy!" Sun urged his brawny buddy.

"I was being sarcastic, monkey brains! We can't fight him here!" The manic mechanic frantically responded as vaulted over a chimney.

"What are you waiting for?!" Sun shouted.

"Somewhere with less chance of massive collateral damage for starters! Not to mention we're running for our lives if you haven't noticed! I will not have either my mother or father busting my balls for a big mess! So, quit asking me shit and move!" Bruz retorted as they continued to evade the assault of the pissed off criminal in the mighty machine that pursued them. The young outback mechanic knew that it'd be best for him to call in some back up of his own to help. It wasn't that he didn't trust RWBY, Neptune and Sun's abilities, but rather Torchwick himself would still be a handful after the mech was beaten. He reached into his pocket pressed the button on the emergency beacon. With any luck his foster father would be along soon enough to help bring in the criminal.

After a few more minutes the fight had reached the highway and Torchwick was plowing through cars left and right to catch the three faunus teens. Yang and Neptune had arrived on the highway and began to attack the mech from behind. The blonde brawler weaved through the hail of cars being knocked her by Roman as Neptune fired his weapon at the mech, landing a solid hit. The blue haired boy jumped onto the mech, stabbed it with his weapon's spear form, and hung on for dear life. Blake, Sun, and Bruz jumped from car to car at a rapid pace to stay one step ahead of Torchwick. Sun saw his partner in trouble and used his semblance to strike back at the mech. Before he could really be of help though, the two of them were knocked off the freeway. Bruz pinched the bridge of his nose at that and knowing those two they'd probably run off by now.

Weiss dropped down from another overpass above and froze the pavement just as Torchwick stumbled over it. The mech careened over the side and hit the ground where Ruby was waiting for it. The whole team assembled and stood at the ready in front of the stolen mech suit. Bruz got a bright idea in his head and turned to Ruby.

"Oi, you girls mind if get the first shot? I got some steam to let off." Bruz asked with a mad grin under his bandanna.

"Whatever you're going to do, do it!" Weiss snapped impatiently.

"Hey Yang, how about a round of pattycake, eh?" Bruz looked to his sweetheart with a gleam in his eye.

The blonde brawler caught on quick and grinned ear to ear. "I love where your head is at big guy." Yang said as she engaged her semblance with a big smile.

"Everybody, hang on to something!" Bruz said as he did the same, and Yang slammed her fist into his open palm, causing a massive shockwave. The intense force made the rest of RWBY dig their weapons into the ground. All that raw power caused the mech to stumble backwards, leaving it open to assault. As if by instinct, Yang grabbed Bruz by the heels and hammer tossed him straight at the pilot's compartment.

"Hey Torchwick, SPECIAL DELIVERY!" Yang said as she sent Bruz away by airmail.

"INCOMING!" Bruz roared gleefully as he soared through the air with his arms stretched out in front of him.

"Aw nuts." Torchwick went wide eyed as the bulletproof mechanic flew towards him like a speeding missile. Bruz impacted with the large machine and knocked it backwards with a massive sparking dent, leaving Torchwick dizzied from the sheer amount of brute force. Bruz went to work tearing his opponent apart with his bare hands, ripping off plate after plate of hardened steel. The girls followed his lead and joined in the beatdown with their own brand of teamwork. Ruby called out freezer burn and Weiss froze the ground, while Blake and Ruby jumped away. Yang leapt into the air for her own part in the team tactic. The area was covered in mist on top of Bruz's rapid hitting distraction. Torchwick was too busy trying to shake off the angry dingo to worry about what the girls were up to.

Bruz planted an explosive bolt on somewhere that looked important and leapt to another section of the mech. Torchwick tried in vain to remove it before an explosion shook the compartment. The manic mechanic was proving to be a huge nuisance as he kept on relentlessly ripping the machine apart. Torchwivk caught a lucky break though and grabbed Bruz before he could keep causing any more damage. "Gotcha this time mutt-face! Now die already!" With a mad grin, Torchwick started to brutally squeeze Bruz's torso with the mech's huge metal fists.

The raging mechanic furiously tried to pry the machine's hands off of him before it could crush him. "RAAARRRGH! LET GO OF ME YOU BOWLER HAT WEARING WANKER!" Bruz shouted in agony as he resorted resorted to swearing even though it only made his opponent madder and even happier to crush the life out of him.

"Ha, I finally got my hands on you, mutt-face! This is for that little stunt in the warehouse! Hurts don't it?!" Torchwick responded as he wrung the life out of Bruz, forcing the dingo faunus to cry out in further agony.

"Get away from my boyfriend asshole!" Yang roared as she and the rest of team RWBY counterattacked. They rushed their target swiftly with a coordinated attack as Weiss froze an arm with her rapier and Yang shattered it. Bruz dropped to the ground and coughed blood as he tried to recover from having his organs almost mashed into paste. Seeing her hard to kill boyfriend injured like that, Yang burst into a fit of rage and threw herself at the mech, landing several massive hits before regrouping with her teammates. The girls retaliated fiercely and took down the Torchwick's mech with one last team attack. The machine collapsed on the ground and the wanted thief climbed out of the pilot's seat of the smoking wreck.

"Just got this thing cleaned." Torchwick griped as he walked away from the destroyed machine. Yang fired her ember celica at him but the shot was blocked by the umbrella of a girl whose attire was a mix of pink, white, and black. Knowing Torchwick was bout to get awaway, Bruz went feral for a brief moment and with blood dripping from his mouth he tackled Torchwick to the ground. Neo slashed at his back but Bruz ignored the pain thanks to his adrenaline and rage.

"You're not going anywhere this time Tweedledick!" Bruz roared at Torchwick as he rolled him over and grabbed one of his arms.

"That's it! My name is Torchwick, TOOOOORRRCHWICK, you ass faced mutt!" Torchwick screamed as he tried to wriggle free.

"If you say so toodlebitch! Consider this payback for shooting me in the face on that rooftop and crushing my organs as a start! Call off that annoying little 'assistant' of yours, or I get meaner! You saw what my old man did to Schnee... that was him being nice." Bruz snarled as he started to wring the man's arm.

"Is that the toughest talk you've got? Hah! Neo if you would?!" The thief taunted Bruz and then barked for his assistant.

"Have it your way." Bruz leaned down to his captive's ear and spoke in a hushed tone. He then brutally snapped Torchwick's arm Just as Neo stabbed him in the back again.

"OWWWWWIE!" Torchwick cried out in pain before Bruz let go and more blood flew from his mouth. The dingo passed out from the blood loss and Neo whisked her partner away. As Bruz's vision faded he saw Yang roll him over with tears on her face and calling his name.

-END CHAPTER-


	18. Bounties and Beatdowns

Mad Max: Road to Salvation: Volume 2

Episode 18: Bounties and Beatdowns

* * *

[Guest: that's for sure.]

[Wombag1786: Thanks, I'll keep that bet in mind, and I guess we'll see when it gets to Volume 3.]

[Charles: Thanks and yeah it's sad, but I promised no threesomes so oh well.]

[Javier The Wordsmith: Great, and there are some Tucker references coming up!]

* * *

-ATLAS: SCHNEE MANOR: SEVERAL DAYS LATER-

Felix had quite a fair amount of issues on his mind today, including but not limited to why he was even bothering to visit the windbag who runs the SDC. The jackass was good for the money at least, so long as the veteran mercenary used the right mix of usual intimidation, persuasion, and charm. From what Felix could see as he approached the front the of the Schnee residence, old man Jacque was definitely compensating for something with how fancy the place was. But who was he to say when it came to the tastes of the rich and powerful? That said, he did remember what he told Tucker back on Chorus, he wanted to buy a billboard sized flat-screen TV. As he reached the front door, two AK drones activated and stood in his way. Just as Felix was about to draw his gun in preparation for a fight, Jacque's voice played through one of the drones.

"You must be the mercenary. Felix, I presume?" Jacque spoke nonchalantly to his potential new employee through the machine.

"Are you going to call off your toys and let me in so we can talk business or what?"

"A servant shall escort you to my office shortly so that we may discuss what I require of your services." Jacque said with a hint snobbery over the machine's microphone.

"Sure, nice place you got by the way." Felix replied coolly, despite the rudeness of his prospective client.

"You are clear to enter." The drone said in its robotic tone with Jacque no longer directly in control. Felix just strolled pas the machine and into the mansion, whistling a tune carefreely. From his experience with old chairman Hargrove, the veteran mercenary knew just how to deal with his potential client. The butler Jacque mentioned then approached Felix with an AK droid beside him. The place was obviously crawling with security after what Max had done. Several visible security turret guns that popped out from the ceiling were scanning at regular intervals, not to mention the AK drones posing as statues. Felix inwardly chuckled at how much his rival's little stunt had scared the wealthy dust magnate. All this security would be pretty difficult for anyone who wasn't as skilled as himself. He put that aside as he finally reached the fortified entrance to Jacque's office that now resembled more a panic room.

The door opened to reveal Jacque's office interior, and the contemptible magnate himself sat at the large desk. With a wave of Jacque's hand, the servant quickly left the room while the machine stood at attention beside Felix. The presence of the armored security drone made Felix uncomfortable to say the least. Jacque gestured to the seat in front of the desk and Felix sat down in the surprisingly comfortable chair. The wealthy dust Magnate leaned forward and locked his fingers together as he tried to stare through Felix in a search for weakness. The mercenary just crossed his arms lazily and waited for the rich man to speak.

"Now that we have some privacy, I have a little mission for you, Felix." Jacque spoke with his boardroom business tone.

"If it's something that'll actually make me sweat, it'll cost you big time." The mercenary said bluntly.

"Hmph, I understand you have a reputation for finding people. If that's the case, my sources tell me of some rumors that two individuals I'm looking for are hiding in Vale somewhere. Who I need you to find specifically is this woman, and her son." Jacque said as he revealed a picture of Mari, Amy, and Daniel to the mercenary. Both the faces of Amy and Daniel were circled in red marker. "I need those two here, UNHARMED and ALIVE. You will not be paid a single lien otherwise. If you are unable to acquire both of them, then bringing in one or the other is at the very least… acceptable."

Felix leaned back in the chair as he studied the photo Jacque had given him and put a hand to his chin. "And the faunus chick with the fox ears?"

Jacque snorted dismissively at the mention of the faunus in question. "Dispose of that faunus trash as you see fit, but she will be the main problem at the moment for you. So, by all means, don't be afraid to deal with her at a moment's notice, but those two are the priority. Do I make myself clear?"

"Alrighty then, 4 million, that's the price of what you're buying, non-negotiable. You are asking me to locate two people who my gut tells me really don't want to be found after all." Felix said as he set down the picture and crossed his arms again.

"Then it seems we have a deal." Jacque replied with a satisfied look on his face as he offered his hand to Felix.

"Looks that way mister Schnee." Felix grinned under his visor as he shook hands and made another deal with a familiar kind of devil.

"Excellent, now if you require some 'equipment' simply call this number. There will be a charge for that supplier of course." Jacque said as he handed Felix a simple white business card with a phone number and code phrase on it.

"Understood, I'll keep this close." Felix said zealously as he put the card in a pouch. "Hey can I get one of those mechs, like the one that was taken down in vale a few days ago?"

"That will be… difficult to provide, as neither I or that vendor can just give away that level of ordnance. I already have Ironwood sniffing around my company for various reasons and that will be a very obvious red flag. Any numbskull can see that doing so would be bad for my business and draw attention. Just make do with what you're given."

"Alright… boss." Felix said with a mix of anger and disappointment.

"One last thing, I understand that finding your targets won't be easy, so take as long as you need." Jacque said as Felix stood up.

"Sure, it's your money. I'll let you know when I find them." Felix replied as he made for the door.

"If you must, now leave. I have other matters to attend to." Jacque said dismissively.

"Hey, by the way, if you want, I might be persuaded to take care of that guy who broke your shoulder, cheap." The veteran mercenary set some bait for an easy pay day. He did so love to mix business and pleasure.

"Perhaps, for now just bring me the woman or child. We might discuss taking care of 'him' later depending on how you handle this. Discretion could net you a bonus I might add." Jacque considered the offer but refused.

"Fair enough." Felix said as he walked out, escorted by the drone until he was off the premises. Once he was out of sight of the building, he walked through a dark portal to Salem's domain.

-BEACON-

Bruz was lying in a bed in the infirmary to recover, the injuries he'd taken were severe and he'd been there for approximately a week. Even with his aura, that had been a large amount of punishment even for him. The outback mechanic groaned as he began to stir from his week-long nap, his torso ached from where he'd been slashed and stabbed by that little squirt with the umbrella. Bandages were wrapped around his chest and back from the medical treatment the good doctor and nurse had given him. As he slowly sat up in the bed a calm and casual voice decided to greet him.

"Well look who's finally awake." Washington said as he looked up from a magazine he was reading.

"Ugh, I feel like a truck hit me." Bruz griped

"That's what you get for fighting a giant killing machine head-on. Definitely a good thing you brought beacon with you. If you hadn't then the girls wouldn't have gotten you to the hospital before you bled out." The freelancer said matter-of-factly with his voice carrying a lot of disappointment. "What you and the girls did was stupid, irresponsible, dumb-"

"I get it, jeez!" The young dingo faunus snapped.

"And you did something along the lines of what a few friends of mine might've done." Wash finished with a slight chuckle.

"Is that a compliment?" The teen tilted his head and narrowed his eyes.

"A comparison, and by the way, be ready for Glynda to bite your head off when I tell her you're up." Wash replied and then warned the boy of what was about to happen next.

"Please don't, anything but that!" Bruz pleaded.

"Sorry, but you're screwed." Wash said as he put his scroll to the side of his helmet. "Glynda, it's Wash. The patient's awake."

"YOU ARE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE!" Glynda roared as she used her semblance to slam the door open.

"Aw scrap."

-GLYNDA'S CLASS: TWO DAYS LATER-

After Bruz had full recovered from his injuries and had an ear blistering rant from his step mother, the young mechanic was going to be taking it easy per Doctor Grey's orders. So, he would be temporarily assigned to Glynda's class until Doctor Grey gave the okay for him to go back to learning with Max. As it turned out, the same three alleged Haven students who he was keeping a close eye on were in his step mother's class as well. He noticed them eyeing Pyrrha as she took on CRDL, and that made him frown. Whatever they had planned for her, he was going to give a little 'slap' in the face for it today. Just as the gray colored guy, Mercury Black, stood up to challenge Pyrrha so did Bruz. Glynda wanted to say no but for all her mood swings lately, she could see a flame in Bruz's eyes, so against her better judgement she would allow it. Bruz grinned menacingly at his opponent and narrowed his eyes as he cracked his knuckles. Mercury acted cocky with his firm belief that he could take the larger teen in a fight and it would still provide Cinder with some knowledge.

Bruz stepped into the ring, without most of his other weapons except a knife, and an unusual looking gun on his back. At first glance the weapon seemed like a somewhat techy short pump-action shotgun, but on further inspection the weapon had a red high-tech disk near the where a sight would usually be. As Glynda began to countdown to the fight Bruz drew the gun and pressed a button that morphed into a rifle type weapon with a yellow cylinder on it side. Glynda shouted for the fight to begin and Bruz quickly shouldered the gun rapidly pulled the semi-auto trigger. Mercury tried to dodge the incoming fire but Bruz had been working on his marksmanship. Mercury tried to get in close but when he did, Bruz swapped weapon modes to the red shotgun again. With a press of the trigger a wave of fire dust erupted from the barrel and knocked Mercury backwards. The dingo faunus smirked and rushed his opponent, holstering the gun and grabbing Mercury by the legs Mercury went wide eyed. Bruz yanked his opponent to the ground then rammed his fist straight into Mercury's face, knocking him out.

Bruz dusted his hands off as Glynda called the fight in Bruz's favor and glared at him disapprovingly. He put his hands up defensively and slowly stepped backwards until he turned around and made for his seat. He felt satisfied after taking that jerk down a peg and giving his enemies something to think about. The girl with black hair turned to face his direction and looked him right in the eyes. Her amber eye seemed to bore a hole into Bruz's skull as she stared him down. Bruz felt a slight chill but he remained strong as she and her green haired friend carried the KO'd kickboxer to the infirmary.

-WITH THE EVIL TRIO-

"Cinder, that boy you like, I think he's on to us." Emerald grunted as she hefted the unconscious Mercury with Cinder's help.

"Thank you for stating the obvious Emerald." Cinder said sarcastically with a hint of annoyance.

"Well what're going to do about him?! He just beat the snot out of Mercury like a punching bag!" Emerald voiced her concern in a slightly louder tone.

"We continue as planned and find the other maiden. The time will come when we use his might against him or find another weakness we can exploit." Cinder said coolly with her calm and calculating attitude.

"How do you propose we do that? I mean Torchwick did say he's vulnerable to crushing at least but-" Emerald started to say but was cut off by the sinister half maiden.

"One step at a time Emerald. Clearly, we can no longer underestimate him. That must change." Cinder said with a hint of displeasure in her voice.

"That's for sure." Emerald agreed.

"Besides, he's just shown another variable we have to account for, that's all." The dark maiden said calmly.

"Well we didn't learn anything useful besides that new gun he just used. Without all of his other gear we can't learn more unless we transfer to mister Rockatansky's class. From what I've heard, the guy might see right through us if we even try." The mint green thief said pessimistically as she thought of the Road Warrior and his growing legend among the people of Remnant.

"Enough about him, we'll learn of Pyrrha's semblance soon enough. All it will take is some more time. Mister Rockatansky is best left to Felix and Torchwick, preferably one over the other." Cinder replied.

"If you say so." Emerald groaned. The three of them just happened to pass by Amy who was walking with Caboose, Daniel, and Anya.

"You're so funny mister Caboose!" The little girl bounced around happily as she played around with her two friends.

"Yeah tell us more about your friend in pink!" Daniel giggled with a big smile on his face.

"I want to hear more about miss Carolina!" Anya requested gleefully. Cinder eyed the three of them curiously, the little dog faunus girl especially. Something about her nagged at the dark maiden's mind like an annoying itch. She then turned her head forwards again and went back to helping Emerald carry Mercury to the infirmary, unaware that Caboose had balled his fists when she had gazed at Anya. The blue trooper then forgot about it and went back to following his friends and the babysitter. They were going to go see the little baby girls who were technically Anya's stepsisters. Caboose could swear he heard Tucker saying something about their pretty and kind of scary mother, to which Caboose said hey chicka bump-bump in his head. Then as if the universe or maybe Tucker heard it, he slipped on a puddle of water and fell on his back, cracking the tile floor. The big blue dummy shot right back up and said 'Tucker did it!'.

-END CHAPTER-


	19. Blunt Talk

Mad Max: Road to Salvation: Volume 2

Episode 19: Blunt Talk

[dirtrevor: Indeed.]

[Ronmr: Yes I did man.]

[Wombag 1786: A fight with Taiyang is an interesting idea and I think I know just how to start one. Not necessarily deaths man, sometimes just living can be worse than dying, Max is a perfect example of that. Go ahead and use the concept man.]

* * *

-MEANWHILE-

"Oi mum?!" Bruz got his step mother's attention.

"What is it Bruz?" Glynda replied with a deadpan look.

"I need to use the facilities, right quick!" Bruz gave her his excuse.

"Assuming you mean the restroom then go ahead, but keep it short!" Glynda allowed him a bathroom break.

"You got it!" Bruz said as he left the classroom at a brisk pace. Once he was in the halls he made his way to Max's to drop a bit of intel off to him about what his suspects were up to. He knew it was a small piece of info but whatever they were up to, it seemed that they were interested in Pyrrha. That meant they had no focus yet on Anya and that could be handy for them. Once Bruz had reached Max's room he opened the door and saw his father overseeing a match as usual.

"Oi boss, I got something!" Bruz hissed to his foster father.

"This had better be important." Max growled as called for Mari to run things while he talked with his son. The foxy faunus did her thing and the men went to discuss the latest details of their secret war. Both of them stood outside the room in the hall where no one was around to listen in on their conversation especially if they kept their voices low.

"Looks like our suspects are planning something for Pyrrha. One of them tried to fight her to gather intel from what I saw before I stepped in with Mum's ok to take Pyrrha's place and crushed him." Bruz explained with a somewhat smug tone as he recalled beating the hell out of his opponent in a swift and brutal manner.

"Why bring this to me?" Max said with a stern look.

"I see that as an advantage. Think about it, I know her semblance has something to do with magnetism, they don't. But that won't last forever, since they tried once and I stopped 'em they'll do it again when I can't. That gives us a clue doesn't it?" The manic dingo mechanic said as he leaned against the wall.

"Hmm, …you're right. We have to counter that but not right now." Max put a hand to his chin in thought before dismissing that thought train for later.

"Well then what are we gonna do boss? I'm not the type to sit around my thumb up my ass!" Bruz asked and pointed a thumb at himself.

"Simple, …let them do what they're going to do." Max took a brief pause before revealing his next move.

"I know you don't have the best track record boss, but… have you lost your bloody marbles?!" Bruz snapped at the outrageous idea.

"If we stop them too soon then they will only try again. We have to turn their own strategy against them at the right moment and end this once and for all. If Salem loses all of her pawns at once, we gain a decisive victory that would take her years to recover from." Max coolly explained the whole strategy to his apprentice/step-son.

"Right, we catch it by the tail now and we might fail to catch them… So instead, we turn their little trap into one of ours... I get it." Bruz followed along with Max's strategy and rammed his left fist into his right palm. "But that's a big risk. Hell, they probably know I'm on to them already so I don't think we have the element of surprise anymore." The dingo faunus then remembered what his own actions had wrought.

"Doesn't matter, we know their plan involves her and we need to keep Anya away from them." Max waved a hand dismissively and then crossed his arms.

"As simple as that sounds, it's a tall order boss." Bruz replied pessimistically.

"Hmph, for now get back to Glynda's class and keep disrupting their plans. The more trouble you cause, the more mistakes they'll make trying to compensate." Max ordered to his son, adding more reasoning behind Bruz's role in the plan.

"Understood, besides, I'm going to take my time and make sure I enjoy beating that gray themed arsewipe into a pulp at the festival if they stick around that long. I won't lie though, I feel like I'm a painting a huge target on my back." The young mechanic grinned under his bandanna before considering what he was getting himself into.

Then a moment of clarity struck the veteran wastelander like a shot through the chest. "Why didn't I see this before?" Max went wide eyed and cursed to himself. "If they're going try something, the damned festival is the perfect target." He gritted his teeth at the grisly realization.

Hearing his step father's words of fear the young dingo faunus took a step back. "Wait, are you saying-?" Bruz gasped in shock.

"When they do it, they'll come for Anya…" Maxsaid through gritted teeth as he clenched his fist in rage.

"WE CANNOT LET THAT HAPPEN!" Bruz almost shouted but Max shushed him.

"I know that! But you have quiet down and keep this to yourself, got it?!" Max ordered with his usual style of authority.

"Yes sir, but don't forget about yours truly. They'll get an ass beating before even get anywhere close enough when that happens." Bruz said as he turned to walk back to Glynda's classroom. The road warrior returned to his own classroom to consider the ramifications of his hypothesis and the accompanying strategy. To him it made the perfect sense, if the goal of Salem's forces was to spread negativity then the best opportunity to do so would be at the festival. Fear on a global scale coupled with the rise in Grimm activity lately… it created a recipe for disaster.

'What better way to cause terror than to ruin a display of peace?' Max thought grimly to himself as he returned to his own classroom and Mari returned to her own class. The wasteland veteran administered his class as normal but continued to strategize as he did so. He knew the fact all too well that if he failed the cost could be something unbearable. He could not be allowed to fail his family again, not this time.

-HOURS LATER-

As the sun had set over the horizon, Max stood at the foot the CCT tower and looked into his left palm. He held a detonator that was rigged to destroy the tower in case of the worst possible scenario. It was just one of his backup plans for the disaster he knew was coming. It bothered him to the very core of his being that no one else was able to see what he could except for a select few like his step son. It made him growl in anger that there was only so much he could do and that his own tactical sense determined that what would happen could not be prevented. It was certainly a risky strategy he'd proposed, to attempt turning his enemies' plans against them. One careless move on his part and everything would still fall apart with a horrifying cost. At that moment there was an audible snap from a twig nearby that roused Max from his inner turmoil. The irritated man holstered the detonator and scanned the area, not a soul was around that he could see.

Knowing that he should not linger in the area any further, Max made his way back to his garage to do some late-night maintenance on the interceptor. His reason for doing so was to avoid a moody Glynda who had been in a rather foul mood but had chosen to hold it back until after the day was over. It was long and boring nights such as this one that he missed his friend from the old MFP days, Jim Goose. If there was one person he knew that would make a funny joke about this situation, it would be his old best friend. At this point, even after all these years, Max wondered what had become of him if he had actually survived the fall of society and made it out of that hospital bed in spite of his mangled state. While it felt highly unlikely, Goose was something of a survivor from what Max cared to remember of his dear friend.

As Max walked away back to his garage and digging up long buried memories, an amber eye glowed menacingly from the shadows nearby. Cinder was certainly lucky she had avoided Max's view and made a mental note about why he was at the tower. She hadn't seen what exactly was in his hand, but whatever it was, it seemed obvious that he was planning something. With that small tidbit of information in hand she returned to the dorm she shared with her two accomplices.

-THE NEXT DAY-

After a long day of teaching as usual, Max found himself passing by a room and could hear two familiar voices talking. The voices of Yang Xiaolong and Blake Belladonna of team RWBY were having a discussion of some sort. Some part of him, perhaps something parental in nature, told him to wait for the end, so he leaned against the wall of the hallway across from the door. When it sounded like they'd finished, the road warrior entered the room.

"Mister Rock, what are you doing in here?!" yang exclaimed in surprise at Max's sudden entrance.

"How long were you listening?" Blake asked him in a tired voice.

"Long enough. The way you deal with the demons of your past is your business Belladonna. I'd listen to my son's girlfriend there if I were in your place, and at one point I actually was." Max replied as he faced the two teenage girls and then sat down on the vacant teacher's chair.

"What are you talking about?" Blake raised an eyebrow.

"Hold on Blake, I want to hear him out." Yang said as she crossed her arms and leaned back against the black board.

"Then sit down and listen, both of you. I will only tell you this once so pay close attention." Max commanded to the two students and they did so. "Only a rare few people know more than even this much, but I was a cop once. I was a road warrior, searching for a righteous cause. Long before I settled here, I had another family and a close friend, one by one I lost them all to a group of bloodthirsty marauders who wanted me to die miserable. There was no one who could stop me, so my pursuit of vengeance consumed me and I made the decision to kill them all. When it was over I was all but empty, no purpose, no future, a mangled knee, and no one left but myself." Max explained his story and gestured to the leg brace he wore. "Only anger and pain were left to fuel my survival, and that combination slowly bred madness. As your friend said, you do not have to stop. But do not make my mistake in your endeavor Blake, or your own goal whatever it may be, shall destroy you. When you and I met, I had begun learning from that mistake. I bear many regrets, and if you do not heed the warnings then you shall bear those same regrets as well." Blake and Yang looked at him and they could see the pain laced in his words as he told them a small part of his past.

"I never knew…" The former white fang member said as she caught a glimpse of a nearly invisible tear in his eye as he gritted his teeth in pain from the memory.

"Woah, that's… I don't even know what to say about that." Yang felt sorrow for him as she heard her own story get blown out of the water by Max's own cautionary tale of woe.

"Neither of you have to say anything… *sigh*I just want you both to understand." Max said as he got up from the chair and left the room. The two girls looked at each other as the door slammed shut from the wasteland veteran's exit. If Yang's words had reached Blake already, then Max simply hammered down her points with the piece of his bloody past. Max clenched his knuckles until they were raw and then pounded a wall with one of his gloved fists, leaving visible cracks from the impact. He felt angry at himself for reopening an old wound that deep. After he had calmed down, Max went on his way to the firing range to let off some steam.

-WITH BRUZ-

The manic mechanic had gotten some time to himself for a round of deep thought and was passing by RWBY's dorm. He remembered when he'd met with Yang and Weiss that morning to discuss the dance. A dance and date with Yang sounded great to him, but he had a sneaking suspicion he'd have to keep an ear the whole time it goes on. Either way, he figured he might as well just roll with the hits like any other day. The outback mechanic chuckled to himself at the thought of what his girlfriend might wear in a few days.

Bruz eventually made it back to his own team's room to see his teammates either busying themselves with semi-important work or goofing off. In Aurora's case it was the latter, the former being carried out by Titus and an unhappy Sally. Bruz sat down on his bed and decided to take a quick look at his morph gun. So far, he'd only stuck to the Scatter Gun and Blaster Modes, but doctor Grey had mentioned that there might be other mods out there for him find and attach. Although if he wanted them, which he did, he had to find them himself.

"Well what do ya got there, partner?" Aurora said as she stepped away from watching her usual TV show to see Bruz's new weapon.

"A new toy." Bruz bluntly replied. "Why, do you like it?"

"A gut feeling tells me it suits you." Aurora said as she put her hands behind her head and stretched lazily.

"OOH NEW GUN!" Sally nearly leapt from her chair to see her partner's new weapon.

"Sally no. You know we have homework to do." Titus grabbed her by the belt and held her back.

"But bro-!" Sally the bat faunus whined to her older brother.

"No buts." Titus said stoically.

"Fine." Sally grumpily replied.

"Hold on there Titus, a break won't hurt. Annoying as she is I'll let her have a look." Bruz said with a slightly smug tone.

"Alright, 5 minutes, then we get straight back to it." Titus relented.

"Finally! You would not believe how bored I've been doing this! Wait a minute, why aren't you doing any of this crap either?" Sally said ecstatically before noticing that Bruz wasn't also focused on his work.

"Already did it like Rory. Had to, otherwise my old man wouldn't let me have even a minute with my girlfriend." The dingo faunus explained casually.

"Sometimes I still forget just how harsh your dad can be." Titus added from where he sat.

"Meh, I'm used to it." Bruz replied with a shrug.

-END CHAPTER-


	20. A Bolt Too Far

Mad Max: Road to Salvation: Volume 2

Episode 20: A Bolt Too Far

A/N: There may be a delay for all my stories coming up since my family got a new computer and a certain program I use to write will be out of commission until further notice. I apologize and hope you all understand.

* * *

[Guest 1: Pretty much.]

[Wombag1786: Yep, you could say that. A longer chapter is on the way dude! The only stories of yours I've read are the Left 4 Dead/RWBY ones to be honest.]

[Charles: Thanks.]

[Dragonbluejay1: As good as that sounds, it's not what I have planned but who knows.]

[Guest 2: I'm saving that for something very special man, just hold on a bit longer, okay.]

* * *

-BEACON RACE TRACK: 3 days until the dance-

There had been new additions to the track recently such as extra course setups and whatnot. The wasteland veteran had even setup drone death races where the students would race either school provided combat cars or their own custom built vehicles against the drones. There were even a few circuit races that were attended by students with free periods or were playing hooky. Yang had been a regular diver on Max's course in her spare time recently, her vehicle of choice being her own bike bumblebee. Max though would only allow for non-weaponized vehicles during the circuit races. The blonde brawler was therefore left out of the vehicular carnage whenever she wanted to race during the exhibition races. But he had nothing against the use of turbo thrusters that had activation points scattered throughout the course. Plus, the boosts could be held in reserve by the drivers and even earned at the race start if some students had perfect takeoffs.

Today Max was showing his students how it was done on the track with a time trial. He rounded a corner with the interceptor and the engine screamed as he cleaned up a bad turn entry. The clock tracked his time across the track and the digits were getting higher in number as Max showed his students the mastery he had of his vehicle.

Cinder watching Max's exhibition for the students from the stands with an analytical glare on her face while her associates either ate a hotdog or drank a soda. Her observations of the expert combat driver so far had only served to intrigue her with the question of how to dispose of him. Felix had clashed with Max the previous day and failed again to kill him. Cinder had yet to tell the mercenary that she had seen men hanging around the school that wore armor with a similar appearance to his own. She needed him to focus his aggression on the road warrior while the other two would be dealt with at the appropriate time. Emerald and Mercury were sitting right next to her and enjoying the show like everyone else watching the race. The devious half fall maiden considered something along the lines of perhaps turning the track into a death trap. That would have to wait until after the dance though as she had plans to set in motion. 'This may be a job for Felix, I believe he would enjoy such a move.' Cinder thought coolly.

-HOURS LATER: EVENING-

Anya and Daniel were playing with Caboose as he told them another funny story about what he called the Blood Valley Tales. Washington was listening to his friend tell the stories of day long since passed, which despite the inaccuracies, brought a sort of comfort to the former soldier. He leaned against a tree with a warm grin under his visor at the sight of just how childish his friend could be when remembering the stories of the Gulch Crew. The freelancer thought about it all and couldn't help but have a dark feeling at the back of his mind. Normally he'd shake it off but there was something out there that made his blood boil. But he was shaken from that line of thought by a slight rap on his leg armor from a little hand.

"Mister Washington?" Anya said as she looked up to the agent's visor.

"Uh yes?" Wash replied and kneeled to her level.

"So what really happened to all your friends? Why aren't they here too?" The little faunus girl asked curiously.

"That's something I can't tell you." Washington answered. The little child only tilted her head in further curiosity at the subject.

"Why?" Anya asked.

"Because I have a hard time thinking about it." Wash replied.

"Does it make you sad?" Anya said with a concerned look on her little face.

"Kind of, but I think of it like this, my friends aren't really gone, they're just not here right now. Look, your dad and his friends need our help first, then Caboose and I will go find them." Washington said coolly.

"You mean you'll have to leave? But you and mister Caboose are so cool!" Anya almost shouted in despair.

"That won't be for a while ok. Tell you what, when Caboose and I have to leave, we promise we'll come back." Wash said a brotherly tone.

"Pinky promise?" Anya held up a pinky finger.

"Sure." Washington pinky swore with her.

"Ok, but if you don't I'll sic dinki-di on you like that mean Cardin guy!" Anya said as she withdrew her pinky and pointed her finger at him with a cute look of false anger.

"Oh don't worry, when I make a promise I keep it, especially to my friends." Wash feigned fear.

"Hooray!" Anya said gleefully and raised her arms in the air.

"Now go play with Caboose and Daniel. I'll be right here." Wash shooed the little girl away in a kind manner.

"Okay!" Anya said as she ran back to her two friends. That little kid just seemed to put a smile on his face again and he went back to leaning against the tree. With a moment to himself though, he decided to do a few push-ups to pass the time. As he did so, Amy walked over to him and looked down with a sweet smile on her face.

"How's the workout soldier boy?" Amy crossed her arms over her chest. Wash stopped for a moment and looked up to see that she was wearing makeup and the sunlight seemed to make her look even more beautiful than usual.

"Just great. Up to twenty reps so far." Wash replied before getting up to his feet.

"I saw what you did, you know if I wasn't married, maybe I'd kiss you since you're so sweet. For what it's worth, you seem like you'd make a great dad. After all you are a pretty good babysitter." Amy smiled at him with a slightly lewd pose that made Wash blush slightly under his visor.

"Thanks, I guess you could say I have experience. So what's with the makeup if you don't mind me asking?" He quickly recovered from his moment of male instinct and replied.

"Well I came to tell you that, you'll be pulling night duty as Glynda, Mari, and I have arranged for a dinner at a nice place in Vale. Max is coming since it's a double date." Amy said coolly.

"I really just can't picture him in a fancy suit." Wash stretched and then crossed his arms.

"To be frank, Glynda pretty much has his balls in a steel vice. Besides, it takes a hell of a lot to rile him enough to challenge her, even then she can be so much scarier than he is." Amy said with an amused tone.

"I'm aware of that much from how Bruz freaked out when Glynda barged into the nurse's office." Washington recalled the fear on Bruz's face when Glynda berated her step-son. He could still remember hearing the young faunus teen bear the misery of Glynda's disappointment.

"I know I'll be in for it when my sweet little boy grows into a man." Amy said with shake of her head.

"Yeah, well I remember being that age and it was… an experience." Wash remembered his own years in highschool, even the freelancer program at times had that effect of making him recall his years of awkwardness.

"An answer that cryptic usually comes with a story." Amy inquired subtly.

"How much time do you have?" Wash asked casually.

"Oh about an hour knowing Mari. I have my dress all ready to go, I just have to put it on and it's all set." Amy replied with her game plan all laid out rather neatly.

"Then have a seat on the bench…" Wash said as he sat down and gestured for the lovely assistant nurse to join him for a story.

-THE NEXT EVENING: 3 DAYS UNTIL THE DANCE-

Cinder and her group were on their way into Vale to meet with Torchwick. The slick thief hadn't been too keen on meeting Cinder's latest possible ally that she'd set her sights on. Such concerns were beneath her of course as she had no doubts about her own power being enough to persuade the individual in question. As the bullhead touched down, Cinder and her two most trusted cronies hopped off to meet with Torchwick. They made their over to the warehouse where Torchwick usually had his operations going on. Once they entered the slick thief and his petite ice cream assistant Neo were waiting to greet them.

"Cinder what brings you back here?" Roman said with a small hint of fear in his voice.

"Forgotten already Roman?" Cinder said with a displeased tone as her heels clacked against the floor while she walked over to Torchwick.

"A refresher would be nice since I'm busy setting things for… later." The thief said as he took a slight step back.

"You'll have to put that on hold for now, we have a new ally to convince." The fiery witch commanded and gestured for Roman to follow.

"I was hoping you'd forgotten about him. I keep telling you it's not worth it!" The notorious thief groaned.

"Perhaps I should have dealt with him instead of you first." Cinder said sarcastically.

"You don't get it do you? He's crazier than I am! Cross is not worth your time or trouble!" Roman snapped

"The way you talk about him Roman, you must be jealous." Emerald made an attempt to rile up the older thief for her amusement.

"Yeah I'm jealous of a guy who'd love to deep fry my privates in motor oil! Cross is not worth it!" Torchwick continued to try and dissuade Cinder from trying something that would give him a headache.

"Might I remind you who is in charge here Roman?" Cinder glared at her pawn.

"*sigh*No, but don't say I didn't warn you." Roman groaned as Neo stood next him without much concern for the situation at all. She was just acting like a normal kid her age and ignoring the threat of death directed at her mentor.

"I'll keep that in mind." Cinder said as she gathered her followers and they entered one of the White Fang's stolen bullheads. Roman flew it towards the section of the port that was run by cross bearer syndicate. As they approached the site that operated as the main complex for a legitimate business front, several laser targeting systems activated. Large turret guns that were on the roof pointed directly at the air vehicle. Suddenly a voice sounded over the radio with an unfriendly tone.

"I thought I told you White Fang assholes that this is Cross Gang turf." The voice of a femme fatale growled through the radio speakers.

'Shit, not her!' Torchwick mentally screamed, but kept his outer composure. "Well if it isn't Raquel, how are things going beautiful?"

"Roman… you have 30 seconds to turn around and leave before I blast you out of the sky." The now angered woman hissed venomously over the radio.

"Now hold on there, I have someone up here with a little business opportunity for you." Roman tried to salvage the situation.

"If you're involved, my boss and I are not interested. 20 seconds before you die of your own stupidity." Raquel's voice held no trace of mercy for the thief.

"Aw come on, just let us land and we can work it out! I have what I owe your boss, you know how hates unsettled debts!" Roman decided to bring up an old debt of his to save his skin.

"…Head to the pad on the warehouse roof, any shit from you and I won't have to explain what comes next. I haven't forgotten what you did that night, Roman." Raquel briefly paused and then directed the aircraft to the roof pad.

"Sounds feisty, she an ex-girlfriend of yours?" Emerald inquired.

"None of your business twerp." Roman snarled at the minty haired pickpocket.

"Definitely an Ex." Emerald grinned at Torchwick's reaction.

"She sounds more like the one who wants to rip your spine than that cross guy." Mercury threw in his observation.

"He must be the one she hooked with when they broke up." Emerald remarked.

"Shut up!" Roman snapped.

"Is little Roman throwing a tantrum?" the mint haired pickpocket grinned even wider.

"Enough!" Cinder hissed violently and the compartment fell deathly silent. With the silence secured, the bullhead landed and the group stepped off. They entered the building through the rooftop entrance and were met with a large group of heavily armed guards. Cinder stepped forward and readied her display of overwhelming force by use of her maiden powers. A man in a dark green silk suit appeared with several women beside him who sported their own deadly weapons. The false fall maiden figured that they may be some of his closest lieutenants or something more, a weakness perhaps.

"So you're the morons with a deathwish eh?" Orion said as he leaned over a catwalk rail and looked down upon the group of… guests.

"Orion Cross, I presume." Cinder said as she stepped forward.

"You must be the one who's cracking the whip on Torchwick. I knew it wasn't his style to do this many dust robberies. Why steal that much? I guess it doesn't really matter anyway."

"Yes it is. You see I have an interesting business proposition for you that will leave you richer than the SDC."

"You really think I'm stupid? I don't work with terrorists, the whole thing is just plain bad for my legitimate business. I know enough not to trust people in this life, and you have my bullshit detector going off the scale. I want all of you dickweeds out of here, now."

"Oh mister Cross, you're very smart so I'll grant you one chance to make the intelligent decision. To put it simply, you work for me now."

"Is that so? Not in a million years dollface." Orion growled before signaling to his crew who readied their weapons for battle. "OPEN FIRE NOW, I WANT THEM ON A FUCKING SLAB!"

"500k to the one who gets Torchwick before I do!" Raquel screamed to the room full of criminal gunslingers and machinegun toting mechanics. With that announcement made, the firefight intensified as all of the Cross gang figthers fought for that kill bonus. Cinder fried some of them with her maiden powers while Emerald and Mercury engaged the well-trained criminals head on. Torchwick hid behind a crate for cover and then fired his cane at Orion. The crime boss himself jumped down from his position above the fighting to avoid the shot and fired his chaingun at torchwick.

-A FEW MINUTES LATER-

The entire group of evildoers sprinted out of the rooftop door before roman demolished it in an attempt to seal it behind them. Cinder was lucky she'd destroyed the controls for the guns otherwise they'd be dead when they tired to take off. Roman wasted no time in firing up the aircraft just before another explosion rocked the rooftop, no doubt it was the Cross Gang members trying to break through the ruble.

"I told you this was a bad idea Cinder!" Roman said as he flew the bullhead back to their own turf.

"Do not remind me Roman." The false maiden hissed.

"Those guys were tough!" Mercury said as he rolled his shoulder to check if he was still altogether.

"Well they did have a numbers advantage." Emerald chimed in.

"I admit, I hadn't expected resistance that fierce, no matter. Experience for a later time." Cinder said coolly.

-END CHAPTER-


	21. Dance with death

Mad Max: Road to Salvation: Volume 2

Episode 21: Dance with death

A/N: Sorry this chapter might eel short, I had computer and time trouble so I hope a few bits of this will be satisfying enough. We're getting closer to volume 3 here, and closer to the next Volume of RWBY in the real world. I'll do my best to catch up before the season starts but please don't hold me to it, there's only so much I can do.

* * *

[Luke: As much as I want it to be, I've alluded in the past that it will be the Wild Hunt. But, the possibility may come along that the Shovelface appears to build an archangel.]

[Wombag1786: That's up to you to decide for yourself. Your welcome dude, I'll be waiting.]

[Lordofuselessness: dude it certainly is.]

[CAD D CHATTERBOX: Thanks dude I'll keep it coming.]

* * *

-CCT TOWER-

Cinder had made short work of infiltrating the facility and taking down the guards with relative ease for her level of skill. But will all of her recent experience, she knew that discovery was still a possibility, so she had tied her hair into a bun and wore a black mask. Usually she was quite attentive to her surroundings but did not notice any other presence until she heard the telltale sound of a gun click. The false maiden slowly turned around to reveal a set of jagged, almost razor sharp, teeth that accompanied a joker's grin scar. "Boo." Bruz said in a menacing voice as Cinder looked him in the eye.

"So let me guess, you thought you could just walk in here, knock out some chumps, and do something terrible right?" The boy growled in his best terrifying voice as he held his opponent at gun point. "Oh, right, where are my manners? THE NAME'S BRUZ!" He roared as he dashed forward headbutt his opponent. Cinder sidestepped her opponent's brutal assault and flipped back wards to get some distance. With his appetite for destruction roused, the furious faunus fighter pounded a fist against his chest as he held the gun in the other.

Bruz fired his blaster at the girl who dodged his shots despite his honed marksmanship. The girl landed on her feet and fired an arrow at Bruz's face, grazing his cheek but leaving no visible damage. But despite his semblance the arrow succeeded in causing a slight twinge of pain to show on his face. The angry dingo faunu jumped into the air firing his weapon rapidly and scattering shots around the intruder's position. She kept dancing around his shots with a manner of grace that showed off her curvy physique for the raging dingo to see.

Bruz shot forward again but instead of leaping or a charge he dropped down and slid, avoiding another arrow shot. He then jumped up, swapped his weapon to scattergun mode and fired, knocking the girl to floor with a loud slam. The furious fighter went to ram his fist into the girl's face but barely missed as she rolled out the way. The tiles on the ground visibly shattered through to the cracked concrete under the raw force of his brutal punch, which Cinder was surprised to see.

He roared in anger at how hard it was to hit her and she simply stood there, seemingly unshaken by the boy's brutish style. Cinder inwardly smirked at the thought that she was getting to him so easily which awsn't what she had expected. But then again, she had to admit he was no pushover and best not to be underestimated, just like his step father she had fought before. Bruz ground his teeth in fury and got to his feet gesturing with his fists for Cinder to be the one to strike next with a shark-like smile returning to his marred face. Said deformity was something of a turn for Cinder but it did not do much to lessen her attraction to the dingo mechanic.

After a moment of tense silence, the girl in the black stealth suit conjured her black bow and arrow once more, levelling it at Bruz's head. The manic mechanic responded in kind by shouldering his weapon in its rifle form and turning on the targeting laser that was pointed square at the girl's forehead. The both of them clearly in a standoff, waited for each other to make a move. Bruz slowly squeezed his finger around the trigger of his morph gun blaster, ready for any opening to show. Cinder tensed back the bolt on her bow, preparing to try piercing Bruz's skull and make her escape.

-EARLIER: TEAM BATS DORM: DANCE NIGHT-

"Do I really have to wear this thing?" Bruz was getting into a black formal suit that Glynda had picked out for him to wear. The Suit jacket sleeves bulged from his muscular figure as he squeezed into it, at least Glynda was allowing him to keep his bandanna as it covered his severe facial scars. He was grateful that his teammates weren't around at that moment otherwise Sally would have no trouble teasing him. Titus and the rest of the team were already in the ballroom enjoying the downtime, and waiting for Bruz to show up so they could rock the place.

"Yes, I won't have you doing this in anything else." Glynda replied as she helped her step son dress for the night's occasion.

"Grr I hate suits." Bruz griped sourly.

"As much as dislike your girlfriend's behavior, I certainly want you to be presentable for her. Don't lie, I know you do as well, don't you?" Glynda said in a motherly tone of voice to the young mechanic.

"Yes mum." Bruz reluctantly agreed.

"Good, now put on the trousers, those should be tolerable for you at least."

"Fine." Bruz huffed as he put his legs in the suit pants. They weren't as comfortable as his usual cargo pants but at least they didn't chafe like what he'd worn at his parent's wedding. He kicked he a few times to get a feel for them and grinned under a dark black bandanna at the only slightly lessened freedom. Bruz put on the rest of the suit just as the clacking of high heels could be heard outside the door. A moment later there was knock at the door and Bruz rushed to open it, revealing Yang dressed in a stunning white one-piece dress with a short skirt. The young mechanic's nose bled slightly and he held back a tremendously powerful urge to howl at howl at how beautiful Yang was tonight.

"Like what you see handsome?" Yang said seductively as she eyed her boyfriend's expression.

"…Uh… well…. You… so pretty." Bruz babbled at the sight of his lovely girlfriend.

"Guess I am really am 'stunning' in this." Yang punned with a big smile and grabbed Bruz by the collar. "Now come on big boy, we're going to enjoy tonight." She said as she dragged him away. Glynda shook her head at the two of them as she watched them disappear into the hallways. She felt slightly miffed that Max was busy but someone had to be on patrol tonight. She could swear it was almost as if her husband had chosen to avoid her and that Ozpin had given him a perfect excuse to do so. She was content to know that he'd be returning early tonight at least to chaperone the dance, albeit reluctantly.

Several minutes later, the two teenagers arrived at their destination and went inside to greet their friends. Yang went off to hang out with her little sister, and Bruz went to chat up his own teammates. The manic mechanic found the event to be very boring after an hour with all the formal music being played, he was a metal head to his core and couldn't wait for his chance to rock out. Just before the dancing was about to start, he couldn't help but notice that the girl named Cinder wasn't anywhere to be seen but her two flunkies were. He knew in the pit of his stomach that usually she was never far away from those two in all the time he'd seen the three of them together. His scroll buzzed and he looked at to see he'd received a security alert, narrowing his eyes he went to handle the situation. He knew better though than to leave without telling Yang otherwise he'd regret it severely.

"Hey Yang, I got to talk to you!" Bruz shouted to his girlfriend.

"What is it handsome?" She replied as walked over to him with her little sister in tow.

"Got to leave real quick, got something to take care of real quick." Bruz said coolly.

"Say no more big guy, but be back before the real fun starts." Yang said with a wave of her hand before putting on her hip.

"Of course, wouldn't miss it for the world." He replied suavely. With that done, he ran to the garage and picked up his morph gun before making his way to the CCT tower.

Bruz ascended the tower by way of a few service routes his father had provided just in case. He quietly dropped down to see the guards all unconscious with severe beatings and narrowed his eyes in anger. He spied a female in some kind of stealth suit messing with the main console, depositing some kind of virus into the system if he had to guess. Suddenly a devious idea clicked in his mind, he took of his jacket, tying it around his waist and quietly tore his dress shirt sleeves. Pulling down his bandanna to reveal his facial features, he crept towards the intruder, careful not to make a sound. He pulled out his weapon and flipped it to blaster mode making an audible set of clicks.

-PRESENT-

RWBY had seen something going on at the CCT tower and had left the party to investigate, but as she exited the elevator she widened her eyes in surprise at what she saw. "Ruby what are you doing here?!" Bruz carelessly turned his head and flinched when he made the mistake of looking away from his enemy.

"I came to check- WATCH OUT!" Ruby started to say but cut herself off when she Cinder move to attack.

'Your one mistake.' Cinder grinned to herself, taking advantage of Bruz's down guard, fired her arrow at his head again before rushing at him. Bruz fired his weapon to little to late to stop Cinder from striking him in the crotch and then knocking him to the ground.

"Ooooooh. I'll get you for that you bitch." He rasped as he laid on his back in misery, cradling his injured manhood.

"Sorry Bruz!" Ruby said as she ran in to help her sister's boyfriend and engaged the intruder one on one with her Crescent Rose. Ruby slashed at the nimble girl in black who leapt away from here strikes in an attempt to stay out of her long reach.

Bruz was stunned from the agonizing pain of being in the one weakness all men shared. All he wanted to do at moment was throw up and then get his revenge. He hauled himself to his feet and then, feeling something welling up from deep down, Bruz began to growl loudly. He breathed out deeply and then let out a very loud howl of fury before charging at Cinder once more in a blind feral rage. He leapt into the air and slammed both fists into the ground, then rising again and throwing rapid punches in tandem with Ruby's scythe attacks.

Cinder knew she had no chance of handling both of them, especially with Bruz attacking like a feral beast. She continued to dodge their attacks one after another but the fight was quickly falling out of her favor. The two Beacon students continued their retaliation with Bruz attacking from below while Ruby struck from above with her weapon in scythe mode. Cinder then had one careless misstep as ruby swung downward, leaving her open to a mighty strike from an out of control Bruz. She took a massive hit the stomach that dramatically decreased her aura and sent her flying backwards into a wall.

Bruz went in for the kill but missed her head again as the girl barely tilted it to the side. The furious faunus had his fist stuck in wall and attempted to use the other, but Cinder took her chance and kicked him on the chin. She then leapt over him and fired an arrow at Ruby which the younger teen avoided and fired at her with crescent rose's sniper mode. Cinder quickly loosed another arrow at Ruby, catching her off guard. Bruz snapped out of his rage and leapt at Ruby using every ounce of power he had, knocking her out of the arrow's path. Cinder used her little distraction and slipped away before either of them could see where she had gone. Not a moment too soon, Ozpin, Max, and Ironwood entered the room and were surprised at the destruction that had been wrought. Meanwhile, Cinder had slipped back to her teammates content that she had done what she set out to do. Bruz and Ruby had answered a few questions for them, Bruz would omit his own observations and tell them to Max after he and Ruby would be questioned further tomorrow.

-THE BALLROOM MINUTES LATER-

The two teens returned to the dance, and were accompanied by Max in his usual gear. They both had their own thoughts on what had happened but didn't know what to say to each other until Ruby spoke up.

"Thanks for saving me." Ruby said to her sister's boyfriend.

"Your welcome, after all you're my girlfriend's little sis." Bruz gave her a thumbs up since he'd put his bandanna back up. "Anyway I'd better get up to that stage we set up, I promised a show for everyone so I can't back out."

"Right, besides I think Yang should know what you did." Ruby said as she began to walk away from him until Yang showed with her hands on her hips.

"By all means, tell me!" Yang shouted.

"OHYANGBRUZSAVEDMEANDWEFOUGHTSOMEBODY-!" Ruby blurted out.

"Woah, slow down sis." Yang said coolly.

"Right, Bruz saved my life." Ruby replied short and sweet.

"He did eh?" Yang said with a quizzical look, to which Ruby nodded. Without another word, Yang then grabbed Bruz by the collar, yanked down his bandanna. She kissed him smack on the lips with just the right amount of tongue forcing its way to the back of his mouth. The manic dingo mechanic was stunned in bliss with a with a look of sheer joy on his face. Yang pulled away and saw the beet red tint of his cheeks, she leaned in to his ear and began to whisper.

"You just earned yourself a place to 'bury your bone', after you play." She whispered seductively in his ear, causing his jaw to gape wide open. He looked at her incredulously and she nodded, pointing to a large bulge on his crotch. Bruz's arms hung at his side briefly before he shouted loudly in happiness, drawing loads of attention. He then hopped up to the stage that had been set for his team to play and grabbed an electric guitar, Aurora was on the bass, Titus on the back up guitar, and Sally on the drums.

"Students of Beacon and abroad, raise your hand and shout if you're a hard rock fan!" Bruz shouted to the crowd with his microphone, and many students raised their hands, some of loudest being Vacuo students. "Righteous! Then get ready to rock on some **untraveled roads**!" Bruz shouted and then started to shred on the guitar. The crowd of students screamed loudly at the rock song that raged so fiercely in the air.

-END CHAPTER-


	22. Idle Talk

Mad Max: Road to Salvation: Volume 2

Episode 22: Idle Talk

A/N: Sorry this is filler but I ran out of time and I have to get this stuff out of the way.

* * *

[Wombag1786: The meaning is up to you, and thanks.]

[Ice: Pretty much.]

[Lordofuselessness: Heh yeah. Wait what? "Welcome to Aperture science." Get it? :)]

[0xbadcode: As much as I've considered that, I've received feedback to leave dead characters in their graves. So unfortunately no, Scrotus is gone, but with what I'm planning for later he 'might'... appear.]

* * *

-OZPIN'S OFFICE-

Ozpin was rubbing his temples as he listened to James rant about the incident the previous night. Max and Washington glanced at each other briefly but said nothing as James continued to on his tirade. Glynda looked him in eye and waited until she had a moment to give her response.

"They were here! Ozpin, they were here!" Ironwood growled.

"We are very much aware of that, thank you James!" Glynda retorted in annoyance.

"Fantastic, you're aware. Now are we going to do something about it or just stay the course and ignore what's right in front of us?!" Ironwood ranted.

"Your irritating complaining accomplishes nothing Ironwood." Max stepped into the argument.

"Of all people, I thought you would agree with me that we cannot let this go unanswered!" Ironwood said accusingly to the road warrior who scowled.

"I do, our guard was down and it should not have been in the first place. I should have been here." Max admitted begrudgingly despite his personal problems, duty should come first.

"Where were the other 'security consultants'? Those two you happen to know so well?" Ironwood brought up the subject of Krel and Slice being away from the school.

"They were pre-occupied staking out a suspected location." Max admitted to justify their need to be away. "Therefore they had reason not to be here."

"The both of them are supposed to handle security from what Ozpin told me!" Ironwood got into Max's face, snorting in anger.

"Look, it is what it is. What happened shouldn't have, what matters from here on is that we move on and focus on the here and now." Washington stopped the argument from getting worse and pushed Ironwood and Max apart. "Are we all agreed?" Wash asked with a serious tone. Before the two current belligerents in the argument could respond the elevator dinged, Ruby and Bruz stepped out of it.

"Sorry we took so long, somebody pushed all the buttons on the elevator on the way up. It wasn't me." Ruby said timidly as she and Bruz stepped into the office.

"She doesn't speak for me." Bruz said bluntly with his arms crossed.

"Bruz!" Ruby shouted incredulously.

"Oi, you know I've got your back, right? So, there's no reason to be nervous." He pointed a finger at her and then shrugged coolly.

"Easy for you to say." Ruby said in a deflated tone.

"With him for a dad and her as my step-mum I say otherwise." Bruz gestured to his foster parents with a wave of his hand.

"Ahem." Ozpin cleared his throat and the two teenagers turned to face him. "Now that we have your attention, Ruby, Bruz, thank you both for coming. How are you both feeling?"

"Okay I guess, I'd be better if my bad guy catching record wasn't 0 for 3." Ruby said with an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Oh, I'm just fine, I needed the exercise anyway, not like I had some fun that got interrupted last night." Bruz said sarcastically. "But let's get down to business, you want to know if we have anything extra to share, right?"

"Ruby, I want to let you know that what you did last night is exactly what being a huntress is about. You recognized a threat and you took action, and you did the very best you could." Ironwood said as he approached the young girl and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you, sir." Ruby replied timidly.

"It wouldn't hurt to be a little more confident ya know, just sayin." Bruz said lazily with a shrug.

"But we let her get away." Ruby said with a sad look.

"No better teacher than failure." Bruz put a finger up and recited a harsh lesson life had taught him.

"Now, the general has already informed me of the events that transpired last night, but now that you've both rested we want to know if either of you two might have anything to add." Ozpin said to the two teens.

"I got something, probably speculation but whoever that girl was, she was in there for a reason." Bruz put in his two cents.

"Clearly, and your point is?" Ozpin said coolly.

Bruz didn't like telling them but knew they'd suspect he was holding something back. He spotted a begrudging nod from Max and explained. "Getting there, I say have the doc probe the systems for a bit to be safe. Who knows, maybe there's a mole among the students, can't see it any other way. We could trace where she sent a message if she did."

"This girl, can you tell us anything about her?" Glynda inquired to the two teens.

"She wore a mask, she fought with glass but I don't think it was her semblance, and her clothing lit up whenever she attacked." Ruby replied timidly.

"Save for the glass, that sounds like the woman I fought the night we met Ruby." Glynda put some pieces of the puzzle together.

"Embedding dust into clothing is an age-old technique it could've been anyone." Ironwood said in frustration.

"I'm not the only one here who's connecting the dots, right?" Washington spoke up. "From the file Ozpin gave me on that Torchwick guy, coupled with what I'm hearing now, they have to be connected. Believe me when I say I have experience with stuff like this, conspiracies and thieves."

"How so, Agent Washington?" Ironwood inquired.

"The agency I used to work for, we dealt with 'rebels' from time to time who either had what we wanted or we had something they wanted. Of course, we usually took more from them than they did from us." Washington began his explanation.

"Not to doubt your experience Agent, but where are you going with this?" Ironwood said impatiently.

"Think about all the dust that guy stole-" Wash started to say but was cut off by Oz.

"Gentlemen, back to the matter of Miss Rose and mister Bruz." Ozpin took the reins of the discussion again.

"Right, we'll talk about this later." Washington said coolly.

"Agreed." Max said firmly and the other adults nodded along with him.

"Wait, I think I remember her saying something about a hideout or something. In the southeast, just outside the kingdom." Ruby chimed in with something useful. She nudged bruz and he looked down at her with a reassuring nod.

"Yeah, come to think of it she muttered something along those lines. Ruby's telling the truth." Bruz backed Ruby's play.

"I thought you said the intruder never-" Glynda started to say but was interrupted.

"Thank you both for your cooperation, why don't go spend time with your teams? You have both have a big day ahead of you. Miss Rose, Mister Bruz, please try and be… discreet about this matter." Ozpin said coolly.

"Yes sir." Ruby said timidly.

"Sure, thing professor." Bruz gave a two finger salute.

"Bruz, we have to talk later." Max said sternly.

"Yeah boss, but first I need some R&R, see ya." The young mechanic said as he stretched languidly, and a moment later the two teenagers were gone.

"Now since that's over-" Washington started to say but Ironwood cut him off.

"Well there we have it, we send as many troops as we can to the south east and eradicate any forces that stand in our way." Ironwood brought up his usual idea of brute force.

"Why must your answer to everything always be a triumphant display of military bravado? You treat every discussion like it's a contest of measuring-!" Glynda ranted at the military man but Max put a hand on her shoulder and Washington stopped her.

"Now here's another thing I have experience with thanks to my time on chorus!" Washington chimed in.

"Don't interrupt me Washington!" Glynda glared at the calm and collected soldier.

"Glynda, just let Max and I handle this." Washington said in his usual collected demeanor, though Glynda still fumed angrily. Wash then looked straight at the general and began to speak. "General, sending that much force like you intend to do is a terrible idea. I'll let Max explain why." He said coolly and then gestured to his fellow tactician.

"It'll leave us exposed, again. Whatever is there may also serve to be a trap, we've been at this long enough to know what we are dealing with. For all we know they might be expecting us to attack, clearly brute force is not the answer." Max said stoically before his tone began to grow increasingly serious. "Experience has taught me how useful it can be to perform reconnaissance first before an assault, you're are an idiot, Ironwood. How many times must I repeatedly tell you this is no conventional conflict?! Your continued ignorance will cost those troops their lives." The road warrior insulted the General, and brought up the strategic blundering of which he was at fault. Glynda smirked at how her husband brought the general down a peg or two with help from Washington.

"Well I wouldn't have put it that way exactly but, yes, wasting lives won't help our situation." Washington agreed with his colleague on the matter.

The general's eye twitch slightly in frustration before he finally spoke up. "How dare you?!" Ironwood shouted.

"Now everyone, calm down! There is no need for any fighting between allies. The next course of action is quite clear from this discussion." Ozpin intervened and attempted to de-escalate the situation before Max and Ironwood would fight each other if it went that far.

"What might that be, Ozpin?" The general looked to his fellow headmaster with his anger still clearly visible on his face.

"Simple, in war which do you send in first, the flag bearer or the scouts?" Ozpin replied calmly.

-THE HALLS-

After Ruby and Bruz left the talk with the teacher she returned to her team's dorm room to talk with them. As she did so, a certain wasteland war hound was patrolling the halls, simply doing his job as the school's resident guard dog. Ruby nearly tripped over the big mutt but stopped herself just before she would have fallen on top of him.

"Woah, uh. Hey there big fella." Ruby said to the big dog.

"Woof." Dinki-di replied and sniffed her curiously. Ruby just stood there awkwardly as the hound continued to sniff her all over until he turned his away and sneezed, shaking his head right after. He stood next to her and then looked the young girl in the eye expectantly. Thinking of her own experience with Zwei she cautiously reached down towards the dog's head. She then scratched him behind the ears and he lolled his tongue playfully.

"Aw you're just a big old softy." She said as she scratched him behind the ears.

"Bark." The dog talked to her.

"Want to come with me boy?" Ruby asked the warhound and received an affirmative "woof". Without another word the two of them made their way to Rwby's dorm room.

-RWBY'S DORM-

After arriving at the destination Ruby was pelted with questions from her team to which she babbled awkwardly. That went on until Weiss noticed something behind her teammates and Blake's ears twitched alertly.

"What's that big mutt doing here?!" The heiress snapped and pointed to the dog of war. As Weiss had little tantrum, Blake went to her bed and away from the canine. The dog seemed to narrow his eyes at the cat faunus, clearly displaying he had no interest in chasing that particular cat.

"That's Bruz and Mister Rock's dog, Dinki-di. How you doing boy?" Yang said as she leaned down to greet the big dog.

"I found him in the halls." Ruby said with a small smile.

"Aroo." The big dog howled slightly with happiness and then started licking Yang.

"That tickles boy, good dog!" Yang said as she got covered in playful licks from the usually serious animal.

"Get that big mangey mutt out of here!" The uptight heiress shouted as she pointed at the grizzled pooch.

"Grr." The dog took his attention off of Yang and snarled angrily at the heiress who backed away slightly.

Ruby saw her teammate reach for her sword but got in the way. "Bad boy! No growling at Weiss." Ruby wagged her finger in front of the dog, to which he simply snorted in response. The big dog then walked away from the girls who went on with their own discussion while he tried to find a place to curl up. He settled on a spot that smelled strongest of Yang and Bruz and laid down, panting calmly. As the girls talked Dink-di sniffed the air and noticed a mail canister that was the cause of it. He curiously strolled over to it and grabbed it in his teeth, then he brought it to Yang so she could open it.

"Oh, thanks boy!" Yang said to the wasteland hound.

"Bark." Dinki-di replied.

"What's that?" Ruby inquired about the mail tube.

"I don't know yet, dad sent it to us." Yang said casually as she held the mail tube.

"Oooh something from home!" Ruby chirped as she struggled to wrestle the package from her sister. Dinki just tilted his head at how strange the girls were acting, then again, the dog supposed it didn't matter and sat down. Yang shook the tube and a little black fuzzy cylinder popped out onto the floor. It shuffled a few times with Dink-di could swear were barely audible yips. Suddenly the little cylinder unfurled with a little pop to reveal a corgi. The girls had various reactions to the tiny dog, Ruby being extremely excited to see the cute little critter.

"Zwei!" The youngest of team RWBY squealed as she picked up and cuddled the ball of fluff. Weiss looked at the little critter in Ruby's arms and she couldn't help but find the little guy to be extremely cute. The larger dog was on the fence on how to feel about another canine entering what he considered his territory. After thinking for a moment with the pragmatism of his master, the bigger dog approached Ruby and sniffed at the little dog. Zwei yipped at Dinki-di happily and hopped out of Ruby's arms to greet the bigger animal.

"Uh, what are you up to Zwei?" Ruby said as she watched the little dog approach the big dog.

"Aw I think he's making a friend." Yang answered her sister's question since the little dog couldn't. Dinki-di stood tall over the diminutive fluff ball but Zwei simply lolled his tongue cutely. The bigger dog leaned down and sniffed at him, the little dog sniffed and then yipped playfully before hopping on top of Dinki-di's back and barking playfully.

Dinki-di tilted his head back towards the little dog and seemed to narrow his eyes in a glare that clearly said 'Get off my back.'

'Make me!' Zwei yipped. 'Those two are my humans!' The little dog stuck a paw at the Xiao-long sisters.

'They joined my pack, the tall one especially. Haven't you noticed her scent has changed?' Dinki-di woofed bluntly in annoyance to the tiny corgi and tried to shake off the little fuzzball. 'Now get off of me.'

'We can share!' Zwei barked as he held on to the big dog's back. 'We're both intelligent dogs right?' Zwei cast an innocent look down at the big dog upon which he stood.

Dinki-di tilted his head in thought at that idea of sharing pack members, normally he'd oppose such an idea but his instincts told it was best to make deals as his current master had. 'We are…' He growled to the little dog. He swiftly sat down and Zwei slid off of his back, plopping to the floor and rolling a bit before getting up and facing the big dog. The two animals barked and yipped at each other with the girls watching the exchange of animal speak with a bizarre look for the moment.

"Wow what do you think they said?" Ruby asked to no one in particular.

"Who knows." Yang shrugged.

"Who cares, just keep them away from me." Blake hissed. The two canines looked up at the hissing cat faunus, seemingly understanding her, to which Blake went wide eyed. Then after focusing back on each other, Dinki-di stuck out a paw and Zwei returned the gesture, both of giving each other a high (in that case low) paw.

"Even I have to admit that's just so cute." Weiss said as she and the girls witnessed both dogs make a deal with Zwei hopping back on Dink-di's back and barked again, the big dog allowing it. The PA then sounded and the girls filed out with them leaving Zwei behind in the room, with Weiss cooing at the little dog. Dinki-di looked back at his ally and seemed to nod at a plan the two had seemingly formed. Ruby looked at her fuzzy little friend and then at the big dog. Dinki-di woofed in approval of the plan she was forming in her head, she was sure Bruz or mister Rock wouldn't mind if she borrowed Dinki-di too.

-MEANWHILE-

Max was busy gathering his gear for a mission, he would be heading to the abandoned Mountain Glenn area to look around and see if the possibility of a trap may be true. He did it of his own volition though and was adamant that he would not have any students accompany him, but that didn't mean some wouldn't be in the area as well. Though knowing Ozpin, he'd probably stick a team with him anyway at last minute. He'd wondered where Dinki-di had gone though, the dog hadn't been with Anya like usual and neither was it in the garage. It wasn't normal for that animal to disappear completely, Max knew it could take care of itself, but it gave him cause for concern. But he decided it was best to ignore it and a bullhead would be taking him off school grounds to execute the mission.

-END CHAPTER-


	23. Rolling Thunder PT1

Mad Max: Road to Salvation: Volume 2

Episode 23: Rolling Thunder PT.1

A/N: Just to let everyone know I will getting a new job in the next few days so my schedule will be up in the air. In short, expect delays.

* * *

[Guest: It's possible the doggy duo could do that.]

[Ang202: Yes, Dinki di's leg has healed.]

[Wombag1786: if one was an opposite gender... maybe. Oh now you got me thinking about puppies!]

[Lordofuslessnes: Rock on man! Dude I love MEGAS XLR that was one of my favorite shows! Wonder where that device sends you next.]

* * *

-MOUNTAIN GLENN RUINS-

"And why did we pick this again? My feet are killing me!" Sally whined as she walked along beside her partner.

"What's the matter brat-fink? Long walk not relaxing for ya?" Bruz mocked his partner.

"Shut your mouth mutt-face!" sally snapped at him.

"Both of you stow that talk now." Titus shouted at them both, clearly having had enough of his sister's whining and Bruz's wisecracks.

"He/She started it!" The two quarreling teammates said simultaneously as the both pointed at each other like squabbling children.

"I don't give a damn who started it, I'm ending it! As your leader, I want you both to knock it off!" Titus laid down the law on them.

"Fine whatever you say brother." Sally pouted with a sigh. 'stupid freaking asshat-' She grumbled but was cut off by her brother.

"What was that?" Titus growled at his sibling.

"Nothing." Sally replied with a sweat drop on her forehead. She hadn't forgotten how her brother could be when he lost his cool, and that was very difficult for him to lose in the first without extended annoyance.

"Eh, okay. Besides I bet I could you sister's bratty ass any day of the week." The manic dingo mechanic replied cheekily.

"Take. That. Back." The bat faunus said as she ground her teeth and balled her fists in anger.

"You going to make me?" Bruz snorted.

"SHUT UP!" Titus went off at the both of them again.

"Come on you two, we've been at this all day, a little peace and quiet would do us all some good." Aurora said coolly in her attempt to de-escalate the situation.

"Fine, damn it! Look, the whole reason I'm picking a fight is because of this place! Besides the fact that even I think the place is spooky, and I'd spent a while hanging around in a dead town in the desert, it's boring." Bruz explained with a huff as he gestured to their crumbling city surrounding the young fighters.

Suddenly a beowolf appeared and stood on its hind legs. "Roar!" The beast roared as it charged at the group of well-armed teenagers. Bruz blasted the beast's head off with his morph gun in its red scatter mode and even more monsters surrounded the team of young fighters.

"You just had to say it huh, mutt-breath?" Sally grumbled to her partner.

"Finally, some action! Come here you ugly bastards!" Bruz ignored her and hauled out his buzz axe from its holster as he put away the morph gun. He then started rapidly hacking and slicing through the Grimm pack one corpse at a time.

"Get back here, dumbass!" Sally shouted to the manic mechanic.

"What happened to your sense of fun bratula?" Bruz cackled as he cut loose against the beasts.

"You did!" Sally replied matter-of-factly.

Titus seeing a chance to ease her frustrations as well as his own, tapped his sister on the shoulder. "Sally, if it makes you feel better… go all out." He said with a hint of hesitation.

"Do you mean it big brother?" Sally went big eyed with joy.

"Blow off some steam on these and then no more complaining, got it? But hey, don't waste your supply!" The elder sibling made a deal with his little sister.

"DEAL! Bada boom, HAHA!" Sally roared as she started lobbing assorted kinds of explosives and hand grenades all over the place while she madly fired her machinegun at the pack of creatures at a further range.

"Wow, sometime I forget how much of a twister your little sister can be." Aurora said flatly as she observed the smaller of the two Rorschach sibling going batshit crazy.

"Yeah, she gets that from her mom/my step mom." Titus said as he laid down a base of fire that held back another pack of beowolves with an extended drum on his automatic-rifle. Aurora covered him with a sniper rifle after she climbed up to a viable ledge for sniping. Sally slice two beowolves in half just as Bruz killed one that was about to rush her. Then from above suppressive fire rained down on the Grimm with a thunderous sound. Krel continued his barrage to assist the young students and aid their battle while Slice leapt down, using a wire to zip down to their position. The highly skilled assassin morphed his weapon into its spear mode and stabbed through the head of a beowolf. He then jumped up and slashed the head off of another without missing a beat. Krel snorted at his partner's showboating and transformed his own weapon, jumping down and slamming it's hammer mode into ground, creating a massive shockwave. The teens shook slightly from the impact but kept up their fight while their chaperones assisted them.

Sally then threw another grenade but it missed its intended target and bounced towards Aurora's perch. The lovely lady sniper went wide eyed in surprise and was blown from her sniper's nest. Titus, by an extraordinary amount of chance, happened to be crouched below her in a firing position and caught her in his outstretched arms. It just so happened that her decent sized bosom was covering the elder Rorschach sibling's face. She leaned back a bit and saw Titus with a mad blush and stunned looked on his face. Aurora's face had also turned tomato red in sark contrast with her blue combat skirt as she looked the boy in the eye. The moment of intimacy was interrupted by sally slashing through a Grimm that was about to attack them.

"Hey you two! Quit being lovebirds and fight!" Bruz shouted to the two of them as he slashed a Grimm's head off.

"For once I actually agree with Mutt-chops!" Sally replied hastily.

"What did I say about the dog cracks?!" Bruz growled as he his boot a Grimm skull.

"Blow it out your ass! I'm enjoying this, bet I can kill more than you!" Sally shouted madly as she brutally hacked apart the Grimm with her weapon's buster sword mode.

"We'll see about that!" Bruz shouted with glee.

The two heavy hitters went on with their Grimm slaughter spree as the entire group fought their way through the dead city. Krel slammed his hammer into a beowolf, sending it flying to Sally who cut in in half... vertically. Sally twirled herself around with her sword hammer toss style and mulched any beowolves that came near her. Bruz growled as he savagely ripped a head clean off of a beowolf with his bare hands. Titus stuck his gun in a Grimm's mouth and fired through, getting Grimm blood all over his face. Aurora was using her shotgun like a professional and skeet shot a few bird Grimm that tried to dive bomb her teammates. Eventually the Grimm had ceased their assault and the city fell silent again.

"So where did you two go?" Titus asked coolly.

"We were scouting ahead." Slice replied.

"What does it matter? You kids had things under control." Krell said in a laid-back tone of voice.

"That's no excuse for leaving us out to dry like that!" Bruz snapped at the two grown men.

"Watch your tone." Slice said threateningly to the young mechanic.

"Oi, I'm not the one who pulled some asinine-" Bruz was about to rant but his leader stopped him.

"Bruz, like it or not, and I don't either, arguing will get us nowhere. We have to put up with it until we meet up with your Dad later." Titus held his wild teammate back.

"Fine, mate. But I still call that total Bullshit. Sometimes I wonder why my old man wanted to run with these two in the first place." Bruz chilled but still griped about the whole thing.

"That's neither here nor there so deal with it." Titus said firmly.

"Alright, we'll set up camp in that garage and move again in the morning." Krell pointed at the dilapidated building down the street from their position. Without any objections, the group holed up in the building for the night. As the sun set Bruz climbed to the small building's roof and watched the horizon. He noticed a smoke trail in distance and sniffed the air, RWBY was nearby. Seeing they were only a short distance away he didn't see much of a need to tell his team. Grabbing his gear, just in case, he silently made his way to RWBY's camp.

-WITH MAX-

The Road Warrior had been dropped off earlier to search the abandoned area and had decided to leave the interceptor back at the school. He thought it best since he would be stealthier on foot, not that he liked the idea. He felt naked without the interceptor but there was no helping it at this point. He'd heard and even seen some of the fights earlier but chose not to intervene so he could shadow the teams in case they actually needed his help with something other than Grimm. As he walked the dark and empty streets he couldn't help but feel nostalgic in a twisted way. The dead sector reminded him of what cities may have become in his old world if any of their ruins still stood. He recalled the ruins in the dead barrens in particular, the old buildings and crumbling corpses of rural desert towns that sometimes acted as bases for Roadkill, War boys, or on the very rare occasion… Buzzards. As he made his way deeper into the heart of the ruined metropolis, Max couldn't help but feel his old itch. Something was out there besides Grimm and the teams operating in the area that he'd been informed of. He noted the large elephant-like Grimm beasts in the distance, another reminder of something that had once existed in the world he had once called his home.

Eventually, he noticed signs that someone had passed through the area, there were even small traces of odd graffiti that were very hard for the inexperienced to notice. His time in law enforcement had also taught him how to briefly track criminals, albeit on the roads and through the wilds of the outback, nonetheless proved useful. He passed his hand over an old garbage can and found somewhat fresh scratching that could be mistaken for a Grimm's work. Deciphering the marking, Max guessed to be a marker of some kind, perhaps it was intended as a dead drop, he couldn't really say for sure. The can yielded no further clues but it did at least indicate that someone other than his allies or Grimm were here. He knew that while Oobleck was in the sector and very thorough with his work, even he could miss something that small.

Max made his way further along to discover old remains of the past, old bones from when the local population was massacred by the Grimm. It seemed that something was trying to send him a message with how the bones were positioned, a parent's torso clutching with remained of a child's skeleton. Max felt something inside him pulse at thought, and a faint glow appeared around him before it vanished just as quickly. Breathing deeply the Road Warrior relaxed himself, seemingly unaware of what had just happened. Whatever dark message fate tried to convey to him through that display, he would not allow it to become his own.

Soon enough Max stumbled upon an old underground entrance, specifically a manhole with more faint scratching, possibly an indicator of an underground stronghold. He knew the facility couldn't have been above ground, otherwise someone would have found it by now. It was tactic he understood all too well since had dealt with Buzzards who thrived in the dark and foreboding underground. Suffice it so say, he had useful experience with raiding underground ruins, though it was usually to find buried Buzzard treasure. He used his crowbar to wrench open the manhole and reveal the passage below the street. Gritting his teeth, Max descended into the dark depths and turned on his flash light. The tunnels he'd found himself in were deathly silent except for the sound of water dripping from old pipes. He continued on through the darkness below until he reached another set of markings, the White Fang logo.

Max clenched his fists and began kicking in the metal door until it gave out and flung open. He then made his way down the access tunnel with all due haste to reach the enemy staging area. The road warrior came to the end of the hallway and found another locked door, behind it he could hear the sounds of heavy machinery, possibly from Paladin mechs. If that was the case, then he had succeeded in his first objective, and now was the time to take care of second. Stepping back, Max took a running start at the door and bashed his way through it to see Torchwick, and a large concentration of White Fang grunts who'd captured Ruby Rose.

"Well, The Road Warrior himself, I've heard quite a bit about you from a few 'friends' of mine." The smooth criminal said coolly as he faced the grizzled veteran.

"Mister Rock!" Ruby perked up as she saw the wasteland warfighter.

"No games Torchwick, release the girl, now." Max demanded with his fists balled in fury.

"If you haven't noticed, I'm the one with all the big guns, and you don't have that famous ride of yours. So why don't you tell me tough guy, just how are you going to make me?" Torchwick said smugly as the grunts held Ruby. Max spotted Bruz out of the corner of his eye slowly approaching the criminal from behind, climbing on top of a train car.

The road warrior snorted in reply as he reached for his shotgun. "Never underestimate me."

"That's almost funny how you think you can take on all the hired muscle here! I'm no egghead but I do know there's so many of them, and only one of you!" Torchwick said with slight hint of laughter in his voice, completely unaware of Bruz's presence.

"Except he's not alone Torchy, surprise!" Bruz shouted as he leapt at Torchwick and his WF henchmen the scattergun in his hands. Roman barely turned his head to look as Bruz struck him and the grunts with a brutal blast from the gun. The grunts were knocked down, while the cane carrying criminal was knocked into a stack of crates from the sheer force. Seeing his chance to fight, Max drew his assault rifle and unleashed a storm of rounds at the surprised grunts.

"How did you find me?" Ruby asked the outback mechanic.

"Tell ya later! Here, take this and help my dad!" Bruz said as he pulled out his back-up SMG and handed it to Ruby. The view zooms over to Max as he was duking it out with Torchwick in a furious up-close fight. The road warrior got in close with his shotgun and fired a double barrel blast into the criminal's torso, knocking him back. Torchwick scowled at his experienced opponent, and fired a flare from his cane. Max rolled out of the explosion's radius and drew his rifle again, firing a short burst at Torchwick. Roman tried to dodge the hail of gunfire coming at him but it was extremely difficult to avoid the assault of a determined marksman. Torchwick fired another flare near Max's position, causing him to roll away again and buying the criminal a chance to take cover and run.

Max charged Torchwick's position to catch him off guard and end the fight quickly. He was cut off by the grunts who had gotten back up to take him on, they'd made a big mistake. Max started beating the tar out the ones that engaged him CQB with brutal efficiency. He broke one grunt's arm and then slammed him onto the ground. A kick from the next grunt was blocked, and Max smashed his own elbow downward onto the grunt's knee, shattering it and causing the male faunus to scream in agony. Max silenced him by breaking his jaw, which subsequently knocked him out as well. The road warrior then tore into a third grunt with his knuckledusters after disarming him of his gun. Max threw a left jab and followed with a right cross before grabbing his opponent by the throat and headbutting him. Another Grunt tried to draw his pistol but Max responded with slightly quicker draw of his shotgun, that was loaded with shock rounds. The Grunt howled in excruciating pain from the shock shell and was in no position to resist as Max rammed the faunus' head against his knee. One of Max's defeated opponents tried to stand back up, but the Road Warrior just slammed his classic double barrel against the faunus terrorist's head.

Roman was more than a bit surprised at how tough the guy was despite the rumors that he had no aura or semblance to speak of. The criminal stopped focusing on that made for his escape on a train, keeping his mind on escaping as an explosion rang out that signaled the appearance of more intruders. He cursed to himself as he ran away from the battle, he hated those kids, and he really understood now why Felix wanted that guy dead so badly. Once he had boarded the train, he looked back at Max and stuck up his middle finger with a smug grin. Max saw the train starting to roll away and ran for the car, firing his rifle at any grunts who tried to shoot him. The engine began to pull away just Max reached for a handle bar, with a great deal of effort he jumped and barely held onto the bar as the train picked up speed. Not a moment later he saw the students of beacon as well as Oobleck, Slice, and Krell, jumping aboard the train car. Bruz reached out, and with a good heave, safely pulled Max to the roof of the car.

"How's it going boss? Where have you been all day?" Bruz asked his step dad.

"Let me take this Bruz. Ahem, Professor Rockatansky, we were supposed to shadow you today, …so why were these two with us instead of you?! Why were you not fighting with us?!"

"You didn't need my help. It doesn't matter now." Max replied gruffly, shrugging off the unusually ticked off Titus.

Just then Weiss lifted up a panel and nervously looked at the teachers. "Uh professors?"

"Doctor." Oobleck said as he and the adults went over to Weiss.

"What's that?" She pointed to a device inside the car.

"That my dear… appears to be a bomb." Oobleck said with some hesitation.

"No crap." Krell rolled his eyes.

"Then we have no time for messing around." Max said pragmatically.

"Agreed professor Rockatansky! Our objective now is to stop the train by any means necessary to prevent it from reaching the active sectors of Vale! It is imperative we do so immediately in order to prevent whatever those nefarious scoundrels have planned!" The hyperactive historian responded at a speed that practically whizzed by Max.

"…" Max narrowed his eyes at the fast-talking historian, waiting for a less hasty response.

"We're stopping the train." Krell said flatly.

"Got it." Max responded while reloading his shotguns.

"Well, it looks like this year we actually get to see your old man in action!" Sally said with a battle-happy attitude.

"Uh, we've got baddies!" Ruby pointed to a large group of WF grunts.

"The bomb's live!" Sally said as she glanced down and watched a light flicker on from the device.

"Everyone, we're moving up, now!" Max ordered to the group and they moved ahead one car as a car uncoupled and exploded.

Oobleck lifted a panel and to his horror another explosive was inside. "They all have bombs!" He shouted.

"These explosives are not meant to collapse the tunnel…" Slice trailed off as he pieced the clues together.

"They're going to let in Grimm to attack the city from below!" Krell shouted as a hole was punched in the side of the tunnel from the explosion.

"Then we must go." Slice said in his usual calm tone as he unsheathed his gun-spear.

"Agreed!" Max nodded to his shinobi ally. He then bellowed to the entire group what the next action would be. "I want everyone moving along the train cars, we'll go either above or through them to the engine and deal with Torchwick! Now!" He roared, and the students all gave various responses of understanding. They all leapt forward again to the next car as it rolled backwards and exploded like the previous railcar. Dinki-di stood next to Max and the road warrior spotted Zwei. He nodded the hardened war hound and received a welcoming bark from the creature.

The group then proceeded to move along the cars mowing through the horde of grunts with the two teams and Beacon staff working together. Bruz and Yang used the train's momentum to amplify their punches as the grunts charged at them. Max threw several grunts from the train car as he rapidly broke their bones and targeted weak spots that would be painful even with aura. Slice retracted the blade and used his weapon as a simple staff since the children were watching and using his honed techniques he swiftly bashed his way past a trio of grunts. Sally swung her buster sword in tandem with Ruby's scythe and together they knocked even more grunts off of the train. The two large weapon wielders/fanatics high fived each other at their show of teamwork.

Eventually the group split up as Max had ordered and the team on the roof reached a flatbed stocked with a paladin. The large machine began to activate as a WF operator manned its controls and fired its weapons. Zwei looked at Dinki-di and the big dog nodded to his fellow canine. Oobleck transformed his weapon and punted the little dog at the mighty machine, turning the animal into a ball of destruction. The flaming dog destroyed the machine and it tumbled into the wall with a loud boom signaling its annihilation. Oobleck then showed off his own skill by single handedly destroying another paladin with his own weapon.

-END CHAPTER-


	24. Rolling Thunder PT2

Mad Max: Road to Salvation: Volume 2

Episode 24: Rolling Thunder PT.2

A/N: Work sucks!

[Wombag1786: Heh, yeah. That would be so darn cute, but as far as I and everybody else knows, they're both boy dogs, though I could say Dinki-di was actually a girl the whole time, I don't think that would work out well. But who knows maybe if other people read this answer and voice their opinions on the idea it could be possible, but its not a yes. Definitely a maybe.]

[Lordofuselessness: Have fun on you portal hopping dude, them devil girls are real pretty.]

[Sam hill: It's a mighty fine idea but I just don't know about that.]

* * *

-INSIDE THE TRAIN CAR-

The group inside the train was met with the sight of Torchwick's little assistant Neopolitan. Yang and Bruz looked to each other then to the rest of the group, nodding in confirmation that they would handle her. Max looked Bruz in the eye, receiving a quick thumb's up from his apprentice, prompting the Road Warrior to signal the rest of the group to move forward. As they left to the other train car Bruz grinned with a crazed look in his eye and pulled down his bandanna to reveal his razor-sharp rows of teeth. Neo shivered a bit and stepped back slightly as a small spark from a frayed wire lit up the car causing Bruz to take on a frightening appearance as Yang stood beside him.

"Well, looks like you and I get to have some playtime with the little jerk who tried to gut me." Bruz growled to his girlfriend with a menacing tone.

"You want the honors boyfriend of mine?" Yang gestured to the ice cream themed assassin.

"Be a pleasure blonde beauty." Bruz growled hungrily as he stepped forward. He then slammed his foot downward onto the floor of the car in an attempt to rattle Neo with scare tactics. The little tricolored assassin readied herself for battle with a smile on her face that was betrayed by a bead of sweat on her forehead. She knew she could handle the blonde no problem, the faunus was another story though, she heard the stories of Bruz's origins from some White Fang members who'd encountered him in Vacuo some time ago. They'd explained how he was a force to be reckoned with thanks to his brief time as a slave fighter. "I really want to pay you back for that ribbing you gave me, little one. So how about you let me beat you to a pulp and we'll call it even?" Bruz said in an eerily calm tone that was betrayed by the sheer amount of rage on his face.

'I don't think so.' Neo thought with a smile as she created an illusion and waited for her opponents to charge. Bruz seemed to take the bait as he barreled forward like a speeding about make some roadkill. The ice cream themed killer's image shattered as Bruz's fist collided with it and subsequently the metal wall behind it. The steel panel creaked loudly as the raging faunus boy's fist dented it like a crumpling sheet of tinfoil, he quickly yanked it back out and charged at a Neo who'd reappeared between him and Yang. She tried to stab the blonde brawler but Yang narrowly avoided the blade of the umbrella. Bruz charged again to help his girlfriend just as Neo had predicted, and the little assassin ducked under her attacker and watched him nearly tackle Yang to the ground. The blonde sidestepped her boyfriend's assault and rapidly swung her fists at the nimble little assassin in front of her. Neo grinned as she had figured the best way to fight the two of them was to keep Yang between her and the living dingo bulldozer. She then leapt up and kicked yang in her face, knocking the blonde backwards and also fueling her semblance.

Bruz recovered and caught neo off guard, grabbing her throat and the little mute lost her cool as Bruz managed to get his hands on her. The big faunus faunus headbutted her and then tossed to the other side of the car like a rag doll. Neo wiped a small fleck of blood form her lip and Bruz grinned at how good that felt to get a hit on her. The little killer smirked again confidently as things had gotten interesting for her now. Bruz had been that small once so he knew how the runt would fight but his drive for revenge seemed to cloud his judgement a bit.

The ice cream assassin knew she had to deal with the brawny faunus first, as he was a far worse threat thanks his extraordinary durability that she'd witnessed firsthand. That made him her top priority since she knew that she had no chance in any attempt at fighting him head on. Her other opponent, the fiery blonde, would be easy pickings once the dingo faunus was dealt with. With that in mind she ducked under another strike from Yang and evaded Bruz once more, leading him to dent a side wall of the car. With another swift move she slashed at Yang causing the fist-fighter to backpedal in pain. Neo then rolled backwards and kicked Bruz in the back of his head, knocking him to the floor and pissing him off even more. The dingo faunus growled as he clenched his fists and sprung up, grabbing neo by her ankle only for it to shatter. Feeling the shards crinkle to dust in his hands, Bruz beat his chest in fury and then pounded the floor of the car with his fist. Neo popped up again and baited him to charge again at the same spot as before. The angry faunus charged forward and punched through the wall of the car. Bruz realized what he'd done and swiftly grabbed hold of the floor of the speeding train car.

Yang tried her best to fight Neo on her own but the nimble assassin kept on blocking her strikes with the umbrella. The blonde brawler punched again and again, but still made no progress as Neo either evaded or parried her attacks like it was child's play. Bruz tried to claw his way back into the car but Neo slashed at his fingers to try and finish what she started before he could ruin her fun. The dingo faunus hissed in pain as he tried to keep a grip on the steel despite his finger being swiped at. Neo having bought herself some more time, went back to battling Yang who was now more determined to end the fight to help Bruz. But her efforts continued to be in vain as Neo played her little game with Yang, not even giving the illusion of trying.

Finally Neo got bored and had knocked Yang unconscious and flung to the floor of the car, going in for the kill with her blade. The assassin smiled sadistically as she prepared to kill the blonde brawler with the hidden blade of her umbrella. But at that moment a mysterious female figure dressed in red and black dropped from the ceiling and swiftly pushed back the assassin with brutal efficiency. The little tricolored assassin panicked and warped away as the elder female pursued her. Just like that, the two of them were gone and Bruz had just managed to claw his way back into the car and checked on Yang.

-WITH THE OTHERS [INSIDE TRAIN]-

In the next car, the group of four found themselves face to face with a brawny White Fang member who wielded a chainsaw in the shape of a sword. When Max witnessed the familiar sight, he skidded to a halt as a memory flashed through his head. 'NO MERCY!' Those two words echoed loudly through his mind as he recalled his conflict with the high protector of Gastown… Scabrous Scrotus. With a loud grunt of fury, Max charged at the chain-sword wielding menace recklessly. The white Fang lieutenant swung his blade only for Max to avoid it and start pummeling him like a living punching bag. Max's burst of anger wore off as the large man stood solid like a wall and attempted to knock Max back with the flat side of the blade. The Road Warrior knew all too well how to fight large enemies and backed off before getting behind his opponent and charging forward with his shoulder. The lieutenant stumbled forward and growled in pain as Max started railing on him with his fists.

Seeing that this fight was well in hand, Krell and Blake moved ahead to the next car, leaving Weiss to assist the furious Max in his battle against an all too familiar foe. Max kept up his assault but the bulky terrorist proved to be a top dog among his fellows as he defended himself from Max's brutal onslaught. The Road Warrior rushed forward and avoided another slash, Weis made an attempt to help the furious teacher by using her ice dust to slow the brute down. Max used the opportunity to throw another assault at his enemy. Max threw a left hook, then followed with a right cross, and finished the combo with a brutal door kick.

"I've heard of you, you're the one who made that wretched Schnee cry in pain. Yet you side with your own kind, another Schnee at that, like the cowardly human wretch you are!" The White Fang Lieutenant growled to his opponent.

"Hmph, your group attacked me, several times! You are the coward." Max growled as he and Weiss circled the masked faunus terrorist.

"You and the rest of the White Fang are nothing more than another group of petty criminals to be punished for their crimes!" Weiss shouted at the terrorist as she postured herself defensively.

"Every single lie you spit only proves the truth! You are like all the rest, more pieces of human scum to be crushed by the White Fang! Kneel to your better!" The enraged lieutenant roared as he revved his weapon and swung it downward at Max and Weiss who both evaded the wide swing of the weapon.

"I kneel to no one." Max said in a steely tone before signaling to Weiss. The Schnee heiress used her gravity dust to propel Max forward and amplify his punch. Max rocket forward and levied a mighty punch to the lieutenant's gut, knocking the wind out of him. The road warrior then followed it with a right jab to his enemy's torso and then a heavy uppercut that dislocated the brute's jaw. Max then tackled the lieutenant to the floor and started throwing punch after punch at the faunus brute's face. The angry faunus gained a second wind and swatted Max off of him, sending the road warrior tumbling along the floor. Weiss then moved in to battle the terrorist who relished the opportunity to kill a Schnee. He and Weiss then clashed blades, causing sparks to flicker from the blades. Weiss slid back as the lieutenant began to trying to use his large stature to overpower her. The heiress backed off and swept his legs out from under him, sending the brutish terrorist to floor. The angry faunus rolled to his side and jumped up clashing blades with Weiss again, twice. The sparks flew as the carried on with showdown only for Weiss to sidestep Max as he charged in and fired a shotgun blast at the terrorist, sending him to the floor again.

-WITH BLAKE AND KREL-

The two former White Fang members ran into Torchwick and Krel readied his weapon in its chain-gun mode as he had barely any room to swing the hammer, although the gun was still very bulky and to maneuver inside the train car.

"Well hello kitty cat. Ya miss me? I see you brought along a teddy bear too, am I that scary?" Torchwick said in mocking tone as his two adversaries faced him.

"For the love of Oum, do us a favor and just shut up." Krel said in exasperation, having dealt with racists like Torchwick many times over.

"And deprive you of my colorful commentary? Yeah, I don't think so. " Torchwick said confidently.

"Then I guess we'll just have to pummel you until make the smart choice." Krel said as he pointed the gun barrel at the thief.

"Tough talk honey breath, let's see if you can back it up." Torchwick said as he gestured with his cane for the two faunus to attack him. Krell opened fire to cover Blake as she ran forward and made a copy to take a hit from a flare fired by Torchwick. She then attacked from above with a downward slash, careful to avoid Krel's gunfire. Torchwick tried to block the attack but took several rounds from Krell's gun then would have mad him bleed if it weren't for his aura. Blake made use of Torchwick's pain and knocked him backwards, following with a power slash that a wave of energy at the criminal and knocked him to the ground. Blake then put her blade against the thief's throat and Krell put the smoking gun barrel to his head.

"Why are we fighting? I saw you at the rally kitty. We're on the same side-" Torchwick started to say but was interrupted by an irritated Krel.

"I told you to shut up. The both of us are done with the White Fang, so don't waste your breath."

"That's why I'm not talking to you, bear dung. I think I hear a tree calling, so go take a dump in the woods. I know she's not done, aren't you Kitty?" Torchwick deadpanned mockingly to the bear faunus and then turned to Blake. "Heh, do either of you really think you can make people forget what you were?"

"Personally, I don't care. I put my past behind me, that's it. I don't speak for her, but I think we are who we choose to be. I know I am." Krell said coolly.

"But does she?" Torchwick retorted. Krell looked to Blake who seemed to be briefly be distracted with uncertainty. The cat faunus then found her resolve again and kicked Torchwick in the face, knocking him out cold. The bear faunus nodded in approval to his temporary partner for her wise decision at the problem of having her past brought against her. They both trained their weapons on the door and the White Fang lieutenant was flung through the doorway by a furious Max and Weiss. Max jumped on top of the lieutenant again and then hit him a few more times out of spite. The road warrior then checked for a pulse, after hearing a pained moan, Max threw one last love-tap and knocked the brute out cold After that moment was over, the group made their way to the top of the train and reunited with their comrades. Weiss created an ice shield around everyone just as the rain collided with a steel door that blocked off the rest of the tunnel.

-VALE-

With a huge explosion the train wrecked an created a hole in the pavement of a sector of Vale. Alarms blared loudly as RWBY laid dazed and confused from the impact. Yang laid on the ground as Bruz went over to her and pulled her to her feet. Ruby looked to see the Rorschach siblings helping each other while Aurora helped Wiess. The red hooded speedster could hear Max shouting to the crowd to run and firing his gun in the air. The civilians began to run for cover as they heeded Max's warnings of an imminent Grimm attack. Ruby then heard the roar of an engine as the interceptor appeared nearby. She saw Washington step out of it and hand the keys to Max before shouldering his own gun. Bruz then ran over to the still dazed Ruby and began shouting at her but she could hardly hear him over the ringing in her ears.

"Ru.. …et up! Can – hear -?!" Bruz shouted at her as her hearing cut in and out.

"Ugh, what?" Ruby said wearily.

"I said can you hear me? Are you ok ankle biter?" Bruz said as he checked out the younger teen for any injuries

"I'm okay. Remind me never to do that again." Ruby said as she rubbed her head and the ringing wore off.

"Uh huh, now get up! The Grimm are coming!" Bruz shouted as he hauled the girl to her feet. Just then a king Taijitu burst through the punctured ground and a horde of Grimm followed behind it. The group of fighters backed off and got into fight positions. Civilians began fleeing the area in a stampede as the dark creatures erupted from the breach. Max, Washington, Slice, and Krel, immediately got to work and started firing their weapons to try and hold back the tide of monsters. The began to fall back and Max pulled a set of thundersticks from the interceptor's back seat. He threw one at the king Taijitu, drawing the beast's attention to him.

He barely rolled to the side as the monster attempted to kill him since he had angered it. Washington directed Slice to help Max while he and Krel focused on crowd control with the bear faunus switching to explosive rounds. The younger fighters began assisting the veterans in fighting the tide of dark beasts as they leapt into action. Ruby began slicing her way through a pack of beowolves with crescent rose as Yang and Bruz fought in tandem against the creatures of darkness. Bruz hopped on top of an ursa and rapidly fired his blaster into its neck before jumping to the ground and blasting a beowolf with the scattergun and sending it flying to Yang who killed it. The mechanic stood back to back with her for a moment and the they returned to the battle.

Within minutes, reinforcements from the academy had arrived and other students and professionals had joined the battle. Nora sailed overhead with her hammer and attacked the King Taijitu head on, buying Max and Slice some breathing room and the rest of team JNPR charged into the battle. Blake found herself back to back with Aurora and the two of them bashed, sliced and shot Grimm together. For a brief moment the two gunslinging girls swapped positions and fired over each other's shoulder.

Wash covered Max as a beowolf attempted to get the drop on him and Max did the same for Wash. Both of them nodded to each other before working together and using their rifles to thin the herd of Grimm. Jaune twirled his sword before his eye glowed dark blue and he rushed an ursa head on. The swordsman of JNPR ducked under a slash from the mighty creature and then slashed it across the torso. He then managed to dodge another swipe from the now angry monster before slicing at its throat and killing it. Pyrrha glanced over to see her leader actually holding his own in the battle and briefly smiled in pride before joining him in his side of the fight. The two of them then started hacking their way through the Grimm, cutting a swath of destruction across the battlefield. Soon enough Atlas troops had showed up as well to provide their brand of assistance in the battle as well. Team SSSN arrived and started pitching in as well to help their friends win the fight against the creatures of darkness. Even Cinder and her cronies had arrived to participate if only to keep up their appearance of being 'good' students.

Atlas droids swarmed into the area to provide fire support as an airship appeared overhead and dispatched its air units. The sky then began to swarm with Atlas aircraft that started firing on the Grimm from above. The big dog gracefully leapt from the top of an atlas paladin that climbed out of the tunnel. Zwei jumped from Dinki-di's back and bashed his head against a beowolf's skull, earing a bark of approval from his fellow canine. Zwei and Dinki-di then began biting and bashing their way through the Grimm to reach Ruby. Even team CFVY appeared to help out and they dismounted from a bullhead with Coco transforming her purse into its machine gun mode. Velvet then copied her weapon and the two of began firing into the thinning horde of Grimm. Sally spotted the two of them and said her hello with a huge blast from her explosives supply. She laughed manically as she fired her machinegun with Coco and Velvet as the three of them mowed down grim together with their heavy guns.

Soon enough the battle had ground to a halt as the last of the Grimm were slain by the defenders. Max sat down against the interceptor and breathed in exhaustion as he watched the mop up carry on. Wash, Krel, and Slice sat down beside him as well, all of them relaxing after a battle well fought. The group of veteran fighters shared a glance of mutual respect to each other as they watched the battle end. All four of them immediately stood back up when they spotted Torchwick and trained their weapons on him. The thief acted nonchalant even in the face of hardened fighters who would not hesitate to deal with him if he refused to comply.

Bruz regrouped with his team and patted Dinki-di on the head when the big dog had come back to him. Dinki-di then left him and met back up with RWBY and Zwei to hang out with the other canine and pack member. The young mechanic the spotted Cinder and her group, briefly narrowing his eyes knowing instinctively that this was part of that evil girl's plans. It didn't make sense to him though, why had Cinder done this? What purpose did a breach of Vale serve if it failed so easily? Whatever purpose it served, this was their boldest move yet and the time was coming for him to make another bold move of his own to even the score. Then for the briefest moment, Bruz shivered in fear as shivreded in fear at a foreboding presence nearby, whatever it was it seemed to make him almost suffocate. He breathed hard and followed his gut instinct not to look back at Cinder's position lest he pay for his curiosity in unimaginable ways.

-END CHAPTER-


	25. Author's note

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Season 3 of Road to Salvation is up people, please check it out! With the next leg of Max's journey beginning the madness Salem brings is about to take hold of the world he has sworn to defend! That's right War Boys and Girls this story lives again! Catch the first episode of the latest season Refueled PT1.!

-Dman


End file.
